Every once in a while I get the urge to make a collage. Usually I have a subject in mind, and the image of John James Audubon's Roseate Spoonbill has been rattling around in my head for quite a while. So I had to get it out.
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| historymiamiarchives.org |
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| © Mark D. Ruffner, 2012 |
And this is my own version,
The Rare Florida Spoonbill.
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| en.wikipedia.org | commons.wikimedia.org |
John James Audubon (1785-1851) spent much of his his career producing The Birds of America, a series of 435 hand-colored engravings, with birds all at life-size or larger. He sold the series by subscription, and his subscribers included the kings of England and France, as well as major institutions of the day.
The Roseate Spoonbill, found in Texas and Florida, was highly prized for its feathers, and by the end of the Civil War, had disappeared completely from Texas. Only a couple dozen remained in Florida. Today, spoonbills found in Florida are actually the Mexican Roseate Spoonbill.
I offer you two views of John James Audubon. I can't help thinking that with his sharp eyes and nose, he resembles the American Bald Eagle.
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Hello Mark:
ReplyDeleteWe very much like your version of the Spoonbill. The colour, that somewhat shocking pink, of the feathers appeals to us hugely and reminds us of how we would paint certain items a similar colour and then place them around our garden ready to shock the unsuspecting garden visitor!!
Yes, we can see the Bald Eagle resemblance in John James Audubon. What fun!
Hello, Jane and Lance:
DeleteWe see quite a collection of rather exotic birds where I live — herons, egrets, ibis (or is it ibises), and the occasional spoonbill. A houseguest who is a birder was excited to see a flamingo in flight here last month.
I remember the posting on your garden and the delightful outbuilding in which you entertained. It all sounds delightful!
Dear Mark - wonderful collage. Love the way you have used spoons to create the bill. I wanted to look at it more closely but it would not enlarge. Have you used clever photography to make the pink wings? or done a spirograph technique? Audubon looks to be a bit dour in his old age photo, and seems to have lost all of his teeth!!!
ReplyDeleteHello, Rosemary - All of the collage is clipped from magazine ads. The spoonbill's body and feet are from a photograph of dark red leather, and the wings are from an ad that featured a sheer pink scarf, suspended in air. The underbrush is a photo of trees, upside-down and at an angle. And the eye is actually the center of a human eye.
DeleteFantastic Mark - I now feel inspired to have a go myself, and thanks very much for the enlargement.
DeleteMark every time I see an Audubon work, I am in absolute awe! The details are so intricate. Love your collage version, it is wonderful!
ReplyDelete2012 Artist Series Feature on Anita Rivera, Designer & Paper Artist, with her Giveaway on my site!
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
Hi, Karena - Thanks for your comment. Anita Rivera's shoe art reminds me of Andy Warhol's delightful drawings.
DeleteGreat colllage, Mark. The depth and form you created in the bird is great.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I hear something about Audubon prints, I'm reminded of a big scandal that took place in Boston where a major print dealer facing huge financial problems fled the country. Creditors took the store inventory that included many antique Audobon prints that had been left by consignors. The consignors, often not given proper receipts identifying their consignments, then had to prove their ownership. Some lost millions.
Thanks, Steve!
ReplyDeleteOne of the things that's fun about the collage is that from a distance (like across the room) it does become comvincingly 3-dimensional.
That's quite a story about the Audubon prints, and a cautionary note as well. (I would like to think, though, that if I left articles worth millions of dollars with someone, I'd cover my investments better than the folks in your story!)
I like your version of the spoonbill. Since yours is a unique original, it should be more valuable than Audubon's, which after all is only a print.
ReplyDeleteWe often hear that people grow to resemble their occupations, their spouses, or their pets, validating your observation about Audubon. Those portraits with their intense, avian eyes recall the work of that other great bird painter, Edward Lear, specifically the Old Man "who said 'Hush! I perceive a young bird in this bush!" (I will send a copy under separate cover.)
--Road to Parnassus
Hello, Parnassus,
DeleteThank you for your high estimation, which I'll bear in mind should I ever price this work. Of course I had the great advantage of copying from Audubon's work, and I didn't even have to slog through a marsh to do it! (When I think of Audubon, I imagine that he saw some spectacular sights which are forever gone, but that his research also required him to endure much discomfort.)
Thanks also for sending along the Edward Lear drawings - they have both humor and charm.
Love your collage, Mark. Again, you've given me ideas. I've been meaning to work out a collage featuring a bunch of vintage Agatha Christie covers I've collected over the years...Time to get doing.
ReplyDeleteHello, Yvette - That sounds like great subject matter. I hope you do it and then feature it in one of your postings. And I hope you're having a good, well-deserved vacation!
DeleteHello, Yvette - That sounds like great subject matter. I hope you do it and then feature it in one of your postings. And I hope you're having a good, well-deserved vacation!
DeleteHello, Yvette - That sounds like great subject matter. I hope you do it and then feature it in one of your postings. And I hope you're having a good, well-deserved vacation!
DeleteMark, thanks so much for alerting me to Adler galleries and you collage!
ReplyDeleteYou can see Scott Waterman's version of the Roseate Spoonbill here:
Deletehttp://corbuscave.blogspot.com/2014/01/water-water-everywhere.html