About the Work:

After receiving Tyler’s image and title I sat for a few days. On the morning of International Day, surrounded by little faces bundled in cultural fabrics I listened to a live strings rendition of the The Road to Boston. From my spot on the playground the sky is always immense like a giant painting of the color blue with a frame of three-hundred-and-sixty-degree-roof. That day, the weather and heritage and song coalesced in one of those rare moments that happens once in a while. And then I noticed the birds.

They swam above in pairs and groups like speed swimmers so skilled their strokes made no ripples. They trilled solos back and forth in concert with the violins and cellos below, almost like they were relieved to be singing with us. It was then that the seed of an idea broke open and sprouted up to receive the sunlight above. I held that seedling for a while and eventually returned to take reference photos. On my drawing board I laid down the composition in carmine and from there the work grew by itself just as plants who are loved tend to do. In the end I did agonize over the birds: number, size, formation? I returned to my viewing location many times to ensure I got the shape of their tiny bodies right. Finally, I decided to draw a lot of them - maybe too many of them.