After the Killings - Oil on Canvas, 20 x 28 Inches

The idea for this painting evolved during the process more than most other paintings I have done. I began with a photograph I found in a magazine of the face of a woman which greatly appealed to me as a subject. I wanted to create a work which incorporated this image with hands holding fruit as a contemplation of the process of coming to terms with the time of life when the harvest is over.

While I was in the process of finishing up those elements, I had a strange experience which guided the painting to its resolution. We had a birdhouse in the garden where a chickadee pair was raising its young. Every day I watched from the window the entire process of building the nest, and the babies finally becoming very loud as the parents made constant trips back and forth with food. One day I came home to find the chicks had been pulled from the nest and all seven lay dead on the ground, still warm to the touch. A house wren had stolen the nest box. I watched as the chickadees returned with food to find their babies gone.

The wren found a mate, they built a nest together, and raised their young. The chickadees moved on.