The Ornithologist

'The Ornithologist' 1 metre x 1 metre

Here tis :) The first few shots are of the little vignettes I made using old clock faces with various little bits of nature embedded in resin, then some more little painted finches. I did end up changing the yellow bird in front of the portrait (it was just too yellow and it looked like Charles was eating it!) I used an old vintage picture frame which I broke up with a hammer, I used stiffened gauze to wrap through the frame and I gave the frame a copper/verdigris patina. The bottom part of the piece is highly textured and I flooded it with inks and dropped gold enamel paint onto it. Little bits of the original collage peak through here and there. I wanted to give the feeling of framed exhibits falling out of the frame and real birds bursting out. It was very popular in Victorian times to have framed feathers etc presented as a stiff kind of museum like exhibit hanging in their homes. I am pretty happy with it now, but that could change! List of ingredients include acrylic, oil, enamel, ink,texture pastes gold and copper leaf, vintage clock faces, bird skeleton and tiny bones, feathers and resin :)
It's called the Ornithologist after Charles Darwin, he was a committed Naturalist and I relate to anyone who is loves nature as much as he did :)