anonyrrie: Illustration Friday - Safe

Friday, September 01, 2006

Illustration Friday - Safe


To a Waterfowl

Whither, 'midst falling dew,
While glow the heavens with the last steps of day,
Far, through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue
Thy solitary way?

Vainly the fowler's eye
Might mark thy distant flight to do thee wrong,
As, darkly painted on the crimson sky,
Thy figure floats along.

Seek'st thou the plashy brink
Of weedy lake, or marge of river wide,
Or where the rocking billows rise and sink
On the chafed ocean side?

There is a Power whose care
Teaches thy way along that pathless coast,--
The desert and illimitable air,--
Lone wandering, but not lost.

All day thy wings have fanned,
At that far height, the cold, thin atmosphere,
Yet stoop not, weary, to the welcome land,
Though the dark night is near.

And soon that toil shall end;
Soon shalt thou find a summer home, and rest,
And scream among thy fellows; reeds shall bend,
Soon, o'er thy sheltered nest.

Thou'rt gone, the abyss of heaven
Hath swallowed up thy form; yet, on my heart
Deeply hath sunk the lesson thou hast given,
And shall not soon depart.

He who, from zone to zone,
Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight,
In the long way that I must tread alone,
Will lead my steps aright.

- William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878)

(acrylic on 11" x 14" gallery wrapped canvas)

43 Comments:

Blogger steve said...

Love this Carla. I recently saw one of these standing in a local pond and wished I had my camera! It seemed from another era. Excellent job once again!

5:14 PM  
Blogger andrea said...

The backlit glow of yellow around the figure is right on. Nice work ~ as usual! :)

6:31 PM  
Blogger Elisabeth said...

Great colors! Tough doing something like this without it being super cheesy, but this works for me. Nicely done!

6:34 PM  
Blogger Liz Jones said...

Lovely! You got the bird's silhouette just right!

9:05 PM  
Blogger isay said...

i like this poem, too and i guess it has inspired you so much to create this beautiful artwork, actually-i like the title to a waterfowl-something about it that makes me say it over and over again.

11:28 PM  
Blogger Twisselman said...

Beautiful companion piece to your 'clean' illustration from a few weeks ago. Great choice of poetry. Your combination of words and artistry is always wonderful.

1:35 AM  
Blogger Aravis said...

Your work always seems so inspired to me. Paintings like this make me pause to just soak it in. You're amazing. Hope school is off to a good start!

1:54 AM  
Blogger Teri said...

The colors and image are just stunning!!

11:51 AM  
Blogger Tony LaRocca said...

As with all of the scenes depicted in your beautiful artwork- I wanna go there!

12:52 PM  
Blogger valerie walsh said...

deep and meaningful words! I feel as though I can see the feathers moving in the glow!

1:11 PM  
Blogger Amy Zaleski said...

Wow, Carla, you've really mastered the power of contrast here. Beautifully dramatic and majestic as well. It does have a safe, quiet feeling to it. If only the species were as safe as this painting feels.

2:29 PM  
Blogger Powpourri said...

Beautiful colors. I love how you have used the dark to create an almost silhouette of the bird. I am finally painting again so I am happy about that. Finally.

4:49 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Beautiful as always Carla.

2:21 AM  
Blogger Willie Baronet said...

Really pretty Carla. I saw white and blue herons recently and this reminded me of how graceful and other worldly they are. :-)

6:36 AM  
Blogger String said...

I see you are playing with a slightly different style, very nice, great feeling.

7:05 AM  
Blogger FreeCyprus said...

where is that bird!
I need to go there...to stressed lately
:-(

9:14 AM  
Blogger Ginger*:) said...

Oh the colors! This painting is beautiful and I loved the poem. It reminded me of a truly magical moment in time when on a foggy fall day I saw a flock of swans in flight. I have never witnessed anything quite so beautiful. Sunlight through the fog illuminated their white feathers and golden beaks, but the most unique thing about the flight was their shape against the sky. Those long necks stretched out tight and far from their bodies amazed me. In a moment they were gone.

9:19 AM  
Blogger Susan Schwake said...

i love waterbirds and this one is really stunning with that colorful backdrop. of course your words are so beautiful too!

11:45 PM  
Blogger HARDWAX said...

I love this beautiful piece of work. A place to be safe, to rest and just be, amd the poetry just right.

11:54 PM  
Blogger Kim de Young said...

Beautiful painting! I really love the background. This must be amazing in person.

12:00 AM  
Blogger trowbridge chronicles said...

Your beautiful glowing painting of the heron takes me back to my recent travels. I've seen many of them lately as I've traveled through the waterways of Puget Sound on my way to the rain forest. I never get tired of seeing these elegant birds.

1:09 AM  
Blogger Lea said...

thanks again Carla...and again you've made the pixels glow.
all the best,
lea

2:04 AM  
Blogger Jana Bouc said...

This is so beautiful. I'm curious as to your approach...were you working from memory, imagination and/or a photo? It's really amazing and has such depth of feeling.

12:45 PM  
Blogger tiffini elektra x said...

Oh your acrylic is so vivid! Those colors are gorgeous!! I am so in love with these silhouettes of yours. And the outline around the bird is perfect as well.

2:37 PM  
Blogger Roz Foster said...

Gorgeous, striking image. The bird is regal in his stance--especially gilded so beautifully by that rich, blue-gold sky. Great stuff, Carla!

5:11 PM  
Blogger Regina said...

The beautiful silhouette of the bird looks so stiking against the amazing sunset. Wonderful!

5:50 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

GORGEOUS! Great job!

7:49 PM  
Blogger Ces Adorio said...

These series pf paintings invokes serenity.

10:50 PM  
Blogger Ellen said...

Fantastic piece! We have many of these birds here on the shore!

12:54 PM  
Blogger georg said...

Hi Carla!

Just one more of your beautiful bird-silhouettes - they're beautiful.


greetings from Denmark - georg

4:12 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

beautiful illo!

7:17 PM  
Blogger LDahl said...

So calm and peaceful... is that frogs I hear singing? This just might be my favorite bird of yours.

4:45 AM  
Blogger Gabrielle said...

Nice silhouette! It looks so peaceful, I wish I were there

10:19 AM  
Blogger Andrea said...

I enjoy how you've rendered the sky, very beautiful!

3:03 PM  
Blogger AscenderRisesAbove said...

wonderful image and text. I noticed your site listed today and went to take a look. Has it been up all along and I just found it today? Can never see enough!

5:22 PM  
Blogger modroom said...

Mmmm, striking and tranquil!

6:21 PM  
Blogger Ian T. said...

Carla, I love the restricted palette you've used for this, and the way you've deployed it. The silhouette is beautiful and well-observed - I remember painting egrets and night herons along a creek where we used to live and they have such character - and I particularly like the subtle highlight around the shape of the heron. Evocative, stylised and yet a fine nature study at the same time!

12:06 AM  
Blogger Kim Carney said...

Carla, how can you capture each challenge with words and art so perfectly. Wonderful!

11:30 AM  
Blogger flossy-p said...

This does instill a very safe and calm feeling. What a magical place!

7:27 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wonderful art ( and poem, too.) missed your èieces while away.

6:22 AM  
Blogger Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

This is gorgeous! WOnderful work, beaitiful tones and composition. You write great comments! Mary :-D

1:35 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Holy Cow! Is that pencil crayon!? It is beautiful.

7:50 AM  
Blogger IamOSI said...

gorgeous sunset. beautifuly done.

10:28 PM  

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