Happy Birds
NOTE: I am in no way minimizing anyone else’s COVID story by sharing the details of mine. In fact, I know in many ways I have been very fortunate in my circumstances during this time. Perspective (my perspective) in the middle of it all made many days more difficult than others.
The evolution of my Happy Birds series is a direct result of COVID and trying to mentally cope during that difficult time - my dad passed away in the middle of 2019 and I became executor to a complicated estate; I had to put down two dogs (one just before lockdown, and one during); I lost my job due to “COVID budgetary cuts”; and then continued to be rejected at job after job I tried to get hired at (after vaccines were released to public). It’s been a lot. I needed something to pick my spirits up; something that would make me smile during a time when it was challenging to find that smile.
After my dad passed, my creativity was at an all time low. I lost my desire to paint completely and wasn’t producing anything art-wise. I went down the rabbit hole of Pinterest and saw some painted rocks and thought “I can do that”.
Many times I joked to my son that I was using my BFA to paint rocks. I needed to take baby steps though to get back to creating something….anything. I wanted fun. I wanted no pressure. I just needed to slap some paint around! I wasn’t really familiar with using acrylic paints. I taught myself how to use watercolors during college, then I was formally trained in oils for my degree. I had managed to avoid acrylics, convincing myself that they were “too restrictive” due to fast drying and lack of transparency (compared to oils and watercolors).
But again…fun and slap that paint around, Susan!
So I found some rocks and started. Then I imagined the birds having conversations with each other, and expressing themselves through their eyes and body positions. And well…Happy Birds were born. These past months, I have painted many rocks (which were sold to The Crow’s Nest, at Old Town Artisans here in Tucson), but then I moved to painting them on little wood panels I had in my art supply stash. Framing them with found sticks and twigs quickly followed. You cannot imagine my shock at how popular those first Happy Birds were at a show I participated in last December. When I say they sold out within hours, it’s not an exaggeration. If I had had more for the second day, they would have sold too.
Adding collage elements and using different surfaces further added to the overall series. That they are so appealing to a wide range of people shows me that we are all in need of that therapeutic smile. Just this past weekend (as I participated in a local market) I saw many times people walking by my booth and catching a glimpse of the Happy Birds and instantly smiling or stopping to take a closer look. We seem to all be in need of a smile. I’m grateful to be able to share one with all of you.
I have some ideas for expanding the series even further in the upcoming months. I hope these new items will be equally received. I’m sharing photos of the evolution of the Happy Birds from the very first ones, to ones from my most recent show.
Thanks so much for reading all this! I would say to the end of the story - but I know it’s just the beginning for my Happy Birds.
The evolution of my Happy Birds series is a direct result of COVID and trying to mentally cope during that difficult time - my dad passed away in the middle of 2019 and I became executor to a complicated estate; I had to put down two dogs (one just before lockdown, and one during); I lost my job due to “COVID budgetary cuts”; and then continued to be rejected at job after job I tried to get hired at (after vaccines were released to public). It’s been a lot. I needed something to pick my spirits up; something that would make me smile during a time when it was challenging to find that smile.
After my dad passed, my creativity was at an all time low. I lost my desire to paint completely and wasn’t producing anything art-wise. I went down the rabbit hole of Pinterest and saw some painted rocks and thought “I can do that”.
Many times I joked to my son that I was using my BFA to paint rocks. I needed to take baby steps though to get back to creating something….anything. I wanted fun. I wanted no pressure. I just needed to slap some paint around! I wasn’t really familiar with using acrylic paints. I taught myself how to use watercolors during college, then I was formally trained in oils for my degree. I had managed to avoid acrylics, convincing myself that they were “too restrictive” due to fast drying and lack of transparency (compared to oils and watercolors).
But again…fun and slap that paint around, Susan!
So I found some rocks and started. Then I imagined the birds having conversations with each other, and expressing themselves through their eyes and body positions. And well…Happy Birds were born. These past months, I have painted many rocks (which were sold to The Crow’s Nest, at Old Town Artisans here in Tucson), but then I moved to painting them on little wood panels I had in my art supply stash. Framing them with found sticks and twigs quickly followed. You cannot imagine my shock at how popular those first Happy Birds were at a show I participated in last December. When I say they sold out within hours, it’s not an exaggeration. If I had had more for the second day, they would have sold too.
Adding collage elements and using different surfaces further added to the overall series. That they are so appealing to a wide range of people shows me that we are all in need of that therapeutic smile. Just this past weekend (as I participated in a local market) I saw many times people walking by my booth and catching a glimpse of the Happy Birds and instantly smiling or stopping to take a closer look. We seem to all be in need of a smile. I’m grateful to be able to share one with all of you.
I have some ideas for expanding the series even further in the upcoming months. I hope these new items will be equally received. I’m sharing photos of the evolution of the Happy Birds from the very first ones, to ones from my most recent show.
Thanks so much for reading all this! I would say to the end of the story - but I know it’s just the beginning for my Happy Birds.