Wild Things Artwork |
| "On Top of His World" |
36" H x 21" W Pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord.
Although it is relatively easy to find bald eagles in Florida, I never cease to experience a thrill every time I find one in its natural environment. I find them to be exceptionally majestic, especially as they perch atop high snags and look down upon their world.
This eagle was spotted in the Viera Wetlands, one of my most favored birding sites, because of the diversity of avian life there but even more so because some of my favorite birds spend at least part of the year in that location. We were actually on our way out of the Wetlands when this bird was cited. The snag on which he was staged was quite high, and without a powerful telephone lens, I would not have had much of reference to work from.
My composition for this piece is quite conscious. I set out to create a strongly vertical piece, to convey the height at which one normally finds this bird. Then, I wanted his head to be placed in the upper left-hand corner, the place where the Western "eye" begins to read any page of text, any visual image. The torque of his body as he looks back over his shoulder enhances the dimensionality of this pose, helping to show of the massive size of these birds. The angled snag promotes the sense of strength the eagle conveys in this pose, because it appears that strength is required to remain firmly atop the leaning snag.