Sketching is fundamental. It keeps the hands and mind limber. It helps break down a subject into its bare elements, allowing the gesticular energy to pour forth without a care. It is like practicing a C Major scale 7 octaves on the piano—up and down, over and over until the fluidity of form takes over the hands and allows simple beauty to reinforce itself.
Birds are otherworldly, evolved and in my opinion, very intelligent. Visiting sanctuaries and aviaries and seeing them in the flesh is like touching spirit. They communicate with their eyes, feathers and limbs. They seem to know exactly what they are and what their position is in this complicated world. The caged birds we saw at this sanctuary were particularly poignant because they were rescued from all kinds of dramatic events. Some were missing eyes, others a wing or a limb, yet all these creatures had adapted to their circumstances and seemed well fed, cared for and acclimated to captivity. From my point of view, keeping this sanctuary in tip top shape seems like an insurmountable task, but it was obvious that staff members were bird-loving caretakers.
The Florida Keys Wild Bird Center (Key Largo)–adjacent to Florida Bay–was surrounded by a natural habitat of salt marshes, mangroves and other wetland flora. It was full of life and despite the facility being right off Route 1 (main road through The Keys), you would never know it. I felt like we were on a different planet; one unchanged by the hands of flagrant industrialization. It was as though we had stepped in a time capsule and discovered what most of Florida was like 100 years ago.
It was good to get away from the studio, unplug and reconvene with nature for a while. I don’t think my art would grow if I didn’t experience the sensations of the outside world. I don’t like a lot of hoopla, big events, tourist traps or crowded metropolises. Rather, I experience personal revival through simplicity, quietude and the scent of sea salt soothing my senses. I liked being low key down in The Keys! It’s just what my art soul needed.