John James Audubon
There are trees all around where we live now. Today, it seems like we are also surrounded by birds... that is the story of my life! I grew up looking at the Audubon print on the wall of my family's house. My father, Arthur Singer was an artist and print collector, and he was always sitting at his work desk painting bird portraits - and this went on for most of my life! If we went on a vacation, my dad would be out photographing the birds that flew into view.
Arthur Singer paints an Osprey circa 1965
On this globe there are thousands of species of birds and my father painted many of them for his book "Birds of the World".
Writer Oliver Austin and artist Arthur Singer worked on this volume for Golden Press ( 1960 )
I guess for me - it is learn as you go, and I became interested in drawing birds when I was just a child watching my parents do their thing. It was a family affair - this portrayal of all of our favorite feathered friends! If you had the chance to see the exhibition "Our Nature" last year at the Rundel Library in Rochester, NY, you would have had a chance to look at artwork we did as a family - sharing our love of wildlife, especially the birds and flowers which we studied so intently!
Lumiere and The Bird House Present this show!
This story is a prelude to my professional approach to illustrations I made as an adult which I also would share with my students at Rochester Institute of Technology in my class that is referred to as "Zoo & Bot". This week a new exhibition has landed at the Lumiere Gallery at 100 College Avenue, in Rochester, and I was happy to bring a couple of my pieces for the public to see. I am certainly not alone!
"Put A Bird On It! Group show at Lumiere, 100 College Avenue, Rochester, NY
There are so many different approaches to putting a bird in a composition. "Put A Bird On It" is a big group show with many featured artists and you can say that there is a lot of talent in our community! I found that there are many materials in this show, some which you wouldn't expect! Of course there are photos of birds and there are paintings of birds, but would you expect to see a quilt with birds, or a ceramic plate?
Alan Singer's " Hummingbirds Love Flowers", Gouache on paper
The two paintings that I brought for this show were both published in my book brought out by Random House called: "Birds Do The Strangest Things". When I came to Rochester to teach at R.I.T. this was the kind of art I did to make a living.
You can find in this show some outstanding artwork, and I loved the strength of the piece by Lydia Boddie-Rice in this show which runs to mid- July. Her work has a three-dimensional aspect to it and it is quite detailed ( see below).
art by Lydia Boddie-Rice
There are some funny pieces in this exhibition and I was drawn to the design of the "Improbable Birds" book cover by William Holowka. Having met Roger Tory Peterson when I was young, I wonder what he would have thought about this book!
"The Eastern Bricklayer"
Design by William Holowka - An Indispensable Guide!
Actually, the bird books that evolved since the mid-Twentieth century really contributed to our awareness of nature, and these books were also very popular..selling many millions of copies! What it takes to put a good painting of a bird into publication is something I still find challenging..
My hope is that you will come out to see this show and take a look at the many approaches that artists take with this subject. There are big colorful works like the Flamingo by Mark Thone ( see below ).
An award winner by Mark Thone
And there are photos like the unexpected one from my friend Jill Gussow ( see below )
Photo by Jill Gussow
If you miss this exhibition at Lumiere, another version of it will appear later in the year at The Bird House . I think you will enjoy the host of artworks that make up this impressive feathered friend!
