BIRDS, METAPHOR, SELF

 

The bird paintings became an extension from my Group series. In my Group series I used abstract versions of people. The people represented “the other” (within the group). I wanted to continue to tell the “the other” story by using "odd birds".  Actual birds...still metaphor...but now birds. I began this series by drawing groups of birds. Then, as I continued to work on this series I decided I would switch over from drawing groups of birds to painting groups of birds. In the paintings I began to separate the "odd bird" from the group in a very significant way. The new bird is much larger. The emphasis is placed squarely on him. I discovered that this new bird is a metaphor for myself. The main bird is just reflecting what I am feeling during that period of time.