“My Father and the Bluebirds” contemporary figurative painting. acrylic on canvas. 24 in x 20 in

“My Father and the Bluebirds” contemporary figurative painting

Months ago, my father asked me to paint a picture of a bluebird for him. The problem for me was that he wanted a reproduction of a photo that had already been reproduced on all sorts of calendars, mugs and other disposable consumer goods, so I had trouble getting motivated. The situation bugged me for months, but I never came up with a solution because every time I thought about it, all I could see was the picture I didn’t want to copy. Finally I spent a few days thinking about a design in context of the lines, colors and motifs of my current work, and at last an original picture came into my mind.

My Father and the Bluebirds

Daddy with the bluebirds
sitting under the shed.
I hear his voice,
“Another grasshopper?
These baby birds
eat another grasshopper,
and they goan be hopping
out the nest.
You ain’t seen
a catapiller
or something?”

With this command,
the angels
throw out
their wings
and search again.
I too
leave the tiny ark
and look for a moth
behind the hedges.
There I see
a juicy spider
but am afraid
to touch it,
so I call him
for help.