Three Little Birds

39.5" x 39.5"

Mixed Media on Canvas

2022

With this piece I wanted to explore different textures and compositions by not only adding layers but removing layers as well via experimental methods. In doing so I am trying to showcase the negative spaces that are created organically over time - specifically the outline of three little birds from the original layer of this painting. This piece was created on top of a decorative piece of art with three bird pearched in a tree that I upcycled from the thrift store.

Through the process I wanted to conceptually convey that with the rapidly changing climate our world is slowly breaking down around us and sadly we are addressing it and rebuilding it even slower. Because of that every living thing will eventually be mutated into something different or gone forever.

In its final layers I tried new mediums and techniques including a new method of collage I haven’t used previously. I’ve long been inspired by the Japanese Kintsugi technique of breaking pottery only to rebuild it again. Outside of saving some money and being conscious of my environmental footprint part of the reason I like upcycling existing art from the thrift store is in this same spirit. By taking in a previous artists work as my starting point I hope to honor their marks in some way and not just destroy what they made. 

The way in which I achieved the “breaking”, or in this case peeling and melting away of layers of paint was actually through a lot of experimentation on how different mediums would react together after being left outside to dry (or not dry) for a day in different types of weather over the course of several months. This included days of rain and extreme heat. I wanted to literally examine how climate might change the work.

Ultimately I aim to show that everything we ever create in this world is done with the building blocks nature gives us. If we don’t use them thoughtfully, nature will reclaim them forcefully, leaving us only with outlines of things we used to love and rely on. We can sugar coat and bandaid fix this issue all we want but those negative spaces will eventually get too large to ignore - too large to fix entirely.