wildfowl-carving.com

Thanks for signing up!

Book Excerpt - Winter Lakeshore

In this book excerpt from Birds, Art & Design (Stackpole Books, 2015), Larry Barth discusses a snowy owl and bonaparte's gull.

By: Larry Barth
Photography by Bill Einsig

I like birds. I always have. My strongest memories from very early childhood are of birds—a white gull overhead against a blue sky; the bounding gait of an injured flicker underneath the shrubbery; pattern showing in the wings of ducks lifting off from a bend in the river; the iridescence of a dead hummingbird; the bold black, white, and magenta of a rose-breasted grosbeak up close; and the stateliness of a great blue heron in the distance. These memories are not hazy or vague. They are clear and focused, filled with vivid detail.

Birds have always had my full attention. I am drawn in by the rich tapestry of detail that I see in a single bird, and I’m taken aback by the rich variety I see in birds as a whole. I marvel at their perfection. Of all the designs I see in nature, I find the shapes, colors, and patterns of birds to be the most beautiful.

Given their perfection, I choose to present the birds as they are, without distortion or modification. It is also no surprise that I feel compelled to include so much of the detail in which I take delight and pleasure. The faithful realism you see in my treatment of the bird itself has been a constant in my work. It is in the ever-changing compositions I build around the birds that you will see considerable variation. I use birds to explore art. The bird is a given. It is in the arena of design, composition, and presentation that I fight my battles, pursue new ideas, embrace aesthetics, look for opportunities, take chances, try alternatives, and investigate the possibilities that come as I bend, spindle, fold, and manipulate my way down the artistic path.

Read the rest of this article in Wildfowl Carving Magazine's Fall 2015 issue.

YOUR RECENTLY VIEWED ARTICLES

Free tutorials, expert tips, exclusive partner offers, and more straight to your inbox!

Reviews

I have not made this yet so I cannot rate it.

Include a Photo Include a Photo

Click the button above or drag and drop images onto the button. You can upload two images.

Cancel Reply to Comment

Thanks for your comment. Don't forget to share!

Returning Subscriber. I like what I've seen so far. Thank you!

Close

Report Inappropriate Comment

Are you sure you would like to report this comment? It will be flagged for our moderators to take action.

Thank you for taking the time to improve the content on our site.

Sign In to Your Account

Close Window
Sign In with one of your Social Accounts
Facebook Twitter
OR
Sign In using Email and Password