I was working late last night (after 12:30) on my computer and heard from outside my window the wonderful trumpeting of wild swans. I quickly ran outside and stared up into the night sky, the quarter moon had risen giving some light but it was quite dark and I couldn't see them. Still, as I stood with a sense of wonder listening to their calls slowly fade into the deep of the night, a wonderful feeling came over me and I smiled, feeling blessed to witness such an event. This is always the case with wild things and I consider times like these quite magical. Occasionally they migrate slightly lower and can be seen faintly in the reflected light of suburbia. Other times I have seen them by day passing high overhead - Tundra Swans in a deep V formation - but it is always their call that alert me to them. With the memory of wild swans still in my head, I'm posting this small watercolor of a Mute swan that I did awhile ago. I was happy with the way it came out and I plan on doing a larger version of it in oils one of these days. This study is about 5" X 7".
6 comments:
Beautiful little painting. Mute swans seem like the ideal subject to paint although I always paint Trumpeter Swans because I see them often in the summer months.
It's a compelling feeling - literally the call of the wild. A Serpent Eagle gets me onto the roof in no time !
Wow! What a study!
John, thanks, and I envy your sightings of Trumpeter swans, one of these days........
Glad you got what I was trying to impart John, sometimes I find myself sitting up in bed in the dead of night straining to hear again those wild calls.
DT, thanks, one of these days I hope to do a larger painting in oil of this subject, for me it's a very compelling subject.
Post a Comment