Now Available! At the Love Hope Center for the Arts in beautiful Fayetteville.
I call the cardinal a forest ruby due to the way it stands out like a gem against the fabric of interwoven tree limbs, twigs and branches.
Yet it’s also a most welcome guest to any backyard bird feeder for the color and melodious music it brings. Little wonder why this jewel tone and harmonic bird receives the honor of the West Virginia State Bird, a tough competition considering that the Appalachians boast one of the most densely populated regions of feathered creatures in North America.
But I painted this piece in memory of my father who planted a winter bird feeder within a window’s view of his favorite chair. The brilliant red cardinal’s arrival lifted Dad’s spirits such that he ensured an ample supply of sunflower seeds, a favorite of the cardinals.
This original painting titled “Forest Ruby Cardinal” is painted on a solid block of wood nearly an inch thick with the image continuing around the sides giving more dimension to the piece. The painting mounts on a 9.5” x 8.5” hand built stoneware frame with leaves impressed into the soft clay, then after firing, stained with liquid iron oxide to reveal the shapes and veins.
The framed artwork rests on a 15” black metal easel designed to display the piece on any mantel, shelf, counter or special niche in your home or office. Perfect for anyone fond of our feathered friends that bring fascination, music and allure into our lives.