Progress on Bird Series taking flight…

I’ve finally picked up the bird series again with an entirely new vision. I have always loved flora and fauna paintings with a scientific bent – but wanted to take it to a more metaphorical direction. I started with a much simpler idea initially but now I’ve developed a deeper sense of story with these images. In a way I am creating visual puzzles with information that is true about each species. It does leave it open to some interpretation, however if interpreted correctly would bring an understanding of the life cycle and attributes of each bird. This is still very much in development – I need to create a consistent visual language, choose the necessary information to help with the identification of the particular bird, and decide how much and what of their story I need to tell. This is scratching my scientific side as well as my love of ancient texts and illuminated books. This piece is a first dive into the series. This in progress shot is showing some of my exploration of visual symbols, markings and composition.

Can you “read” the information? What is this telling you?

I can’t wait to see what comes next with these!

WIP Goldfinch ©2017 Julia L Powell