Swimming Bluebill Drake and Bullfrog Painting

ARTIST STATEMENT I paint in oils, have since I was twelve, nearly fifty years ago. My output has ebbed and flowed over the decades, as have my interests changed to and from landscapes and abstractions, portraiture and flowers. Animals have grabbed my attention since the beginning of the pandemic, birds in particular, because their beauty in both color and shape exist in innocence; they know not how lovely they are. After completing a series on extinct birds, I began to study those exotic species of The Birdhouse at The Lincoln Park Zoo, of which this Motmot is one of my favorites. Douglas Black.