A Battle of Wills

 

A Battle of Wills ©2021 - I began this piece with an image of a field from western NJ with a backdrop of tall, glittering grasses. Unfortunately, a highway was behind them so I replaced it with a wall of birch trees taken in another area of the field. The fox, sadly, was not photographed live but behind glass as part of a group of animals on exhibit created by a taxidermist. The raven, happily, was very much alive at The Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, NJ. The vintage bird cage, which seems to be causing much tension between the fox and the raven, I photographed while visiting an antique shop. The young man (from by vintage photo collection) seems to be quite amused at the unfolding of the scene before him while the rabbits (from my travels) peek out curiously between the grasses. The crows (also from my travels) startle upward in the background as all await the winner of “A Battle of Wills”. Color, select filters and texture were added to complete the final piece.

The Raven's Wood

Now that the holidays are behind us, it's time to do a little creative catch up, get the juices flowing, and start making art again. I always seem to hit a slump around the holidays when priorities seem to be everything other than my own artistic endeavors. So here's the first addition of the new year! I captured this image (minus the ravens) a few years ago in Millcreek Village New Jersey, a fantastic historically preserved early American village. I would love to know what happened to the amazing tree in this image- some huge storm or maybe lightning. It's limbs were so contorted and angled it reminded me of a giant insect. I used this photo in color for a painting once but in black and white, all of the detail in the grass and brush reminded me of an etching. So again, it has new life as "The Raven's Wood".