BIRDS AND STILL LIFE PAINTINGS IN OILS
The window in my studio looks out on the garden, where eight bird feeders are stocked with a variety of seeds. Whenever a coffee break is needed, I sit and watch the birds. So far, I have attracted a wide variety except for a nuthatch and a coal tit, which I’m desperate to see. Both feature in many of my paintings. One day, I began pondering ideas for a painting that combined my love of still life and birds. The first manifestation was a blue tit on a saxophone, a reference to blues music, which I also love. But it brought a few challenges to overcome, because photographing the two together was impossible—and I don’t own a sax! As such, artistic licence was called for, which meant adapting the blue tits' pose and engineering the lighting. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it so much that I spent many happy hours conjuring up combinations featuring UK garden birds, many of which had a humorous narrative.
Warbler on a cello. Oils on canvas.
The red wood and the play on the word "warbling" made this painting.
Coal tits and a miner’s lamp. Oils on canvas
I saw the Davey lamp in an antique shop, and adding the coal tits created a story.
Cresting the rise. Crested tit on cherries. Oils on canvas.
Curiosity. Black cap and nuthatch. Oils on canvas.
The central composition and simplicity draws the eye to the birds.
The artist’s muse. Coal tit and paintbrushes. Oils on canvas.
As I use coal tits for ‘models’, adding my paintbrushes created a humorous artwork.
Ownership. Coal tit on strawberries. Oils on canvas.
Trill. Blackcap on a trumpet. Oils on canvas.
Trill is both a trumpet technique and a brand of birdseed.
Merlin on the sword in the stone. Oils on canvas.
Inspired by a bolt in a broken concrete block. And, my son’s second name is Merlin!
Singing the blues. Blue tit and microphone. Oils on canvas.
One of two microphone paintings. The other, is a kingfisher titled, ‘Cry me a river.’