Are you ready for the avian invasion?

While sitting at the Winter Park Art Festival this past weekend, Jeff and I hear countless chatter about the work:

Encaustic painting with photography of birds communicating on telephone poles. (Jeff League)

“Did you ever see Hitchcock’s The Birds?”

I’ve seen bits and pieces of the movie, but many people remember a scene that this piece reminds them of.

Our collective consciousness is tapped into the birds, like the flock of art-goers that sweeps down the street and in and out of the booths, chittering and chattering about the artists, talking back and forth wing to wing or squawking loudly across the street, landing for a conversation, pecking at the work.

Family tree of crows silhouette against encaustic painting of turquoise blue sky. (Jeff League)

One of our artist neighbors brought us a copy of the March 17 Wall Street Journal; it seems the avian invasion has begun and the fashion designers are infected:

birds decorate fashion in 2012

In Lesley M. M. Blume’s article, the feathered creatures in the spring collections are “well behaved and downright ladylike”. Unfortunately, some of the art festival visitors are not.

Reading fellow artist Chris Dahlquist’s blog this morning, reminded me to focus on those that get it.

After spending a long weekend shooing off people from photographing or touching the art, (it is wax after all – don’t poke your beak in it) Jeff received a somewhat long winded but poetic email from a visitor with the subject line “Your art touches people”.

Thanks Kimani, you definitely get it.

Join me at the Coconut Grove Arts Festival!

Find me at space # 165

Saturday, February 18
9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday, February 19
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Monday, February 20
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Butterflies encaustic painting over antique map of China (Jeff League)

Butterfly Effect V 72 x 72

Festival Details:
The Festival is located just south of downtown Miami, adjacent to Biscayne Bay. It runs along the streets of McFarlane Road, South Bayshore Drive and Pan American Drive.

More Info & Directions:
https://new.cgaf.com/

“Communication” Encaustic Photography 8 x 8 #55

Encaustic painting with photography of crows on power lines in vibrant turquoise sky (Jeff League)

Happy 2012!

This January we’re featuring several affordable small art pieces that you can buy directly through Arts on Douglas gallery in New Smyrna Beach, Florida.

See how Jeff makes these works using photography mixed with encaustic painting techniques.