September 15, 2011

bridges

orange canoe

Alight and Aloft
24" x 12" oil on canvas


Crows are often seen as messengers of death, a kind of bridge between the world of the living and the world of the dead. Canoes also carry a lot of symbolic baggage, particularly for Canadians. Because of their organic shape they almost seem like a bridge between the natural and man-made worlds.

I sense all kinds of creative opportunities here.

17 comments:

valerie walsh said...

i wish you could hear all the crows cawing right outside my door now! you would smile :) i love this and it came out beautifully! i love space in paintings and this really works well and it makes me wonder and make a story in my mind and isn't that what it is all about? ;)

andrea said...

Thanks Val. I am kind of sorry I removed the deer skull but at least it's clean and still enigmatic. Your vote of confidence gives me confidence! :)

Indigene Theresa said...

I'm with Val on this! I love the space, since it's rare to see. It reminds me of the individual who ferries over souls into the underworld, it's always an old man, but it's probably a crow! :). Anyhow, I love this piece and the space allows you to really appreciate the textures! :)

dinahmow said...

What struck me, right off the bat, is the way the canoe seems to hang in the air. There's no paddler. Has he fallen overboard and gone to...wherever? Is the paddler the crow flying out of the top of the frame? Is the perched crow another metaphor?
Shoot! I could look a long time at this!

andrea said...

Indigene: Wow -- I love that reference -- and maybe the River Styx is white?

Di: Oo. Now you've raised the bar. I'll need to make the next one even more mysterioso.

kj said...

i love this, andrea. i don't like that you removed something you wanted to stay and at the end of the day, you know you should do what you think and feel is right.

i however LOVE how it came out. very serene and wise. that is the message to me.

i am determined to come here more often. i don't know why i stopped!

love
kj

Within Without said...

I love it.

I love the wildness of the crows.

I love that you left out the cow skull, which I don't think fit. It's a great image, but I don't think it fit.

If anything, I think it deserves its own painting.

That's just me.

Is this your main site that I should favourite?

Anonymous said...

Oh wow, very nice! I love the feeling of human solitude yet with the company of those intelligent and mystical corvidae. Plus the red canoe makes it feel oh-so-very Canadian!

valerie walsh said...

the thing that was cool about the skull was it was like a ghost too! and you must do it again where you can barely see it through the mist ;)

Tracey said...

wow love it as well! My only complaint is I need a larger monitor on my laptop so I can see it all without scrolling hah hah :) I really love the sense of openness and to me it has such a peaceful feeling of making a transition or change with the crows if that makes sense ;)

SamArtDog said...

I'm reading Susan Vreeland's "Forest Lover", about Emily Carr.
Then you showed up with your transformational crow.
Nothing happens without a reason.

andrea said...

Sam: I really enjoyed The Forest Lover and sometimes feel that I have a connection with Emily Carr guided by place and passion.

Hayden said...

I think canoes and kayaks are among the most beautiful and graceful of boats. Their quiet, the way they move so delicately, dancing on the waves...this painting is so hushed somehow ... really beautiful.

Hayden said...

(and my capta was "berthing".... how perfect.)

Barbara said...

It's a wonderful piece, Andrea!

Umā said...

I know this is an old post to be leaving a comment on but I just wanted to say that how stunning I find this painting. I love the spaciousness of the sky and the contrast of the red boat against the blue, and how the water so gracefully merges with the horizon. Would you mind if I "pinned" this on Pinterest (with a link to this post of course?)

andrea said...

Thanks, Uma. Pin away!