Painting through Pain and Hope
Blackbirds Singing
How art and nature affect and inspire us- is mysterious.
When I see something that affects my emotions and my imagination I feel a strong desire to paint from that as a starting point. It’s like this thread that came before me, that I take hold of, and from that place I spin another part of a bigger story. Sometimes even a song inspires painting.
Two inspirational songs spurred my painted dark, wobbly, wonky, imperfect little birds. These songs and birds speak to me about the mystery of the day. How horrible, wonderful things happen all at once, how dark and light define each other, how the broken or imperfect can still be beautiful and sweet.
The Inspiration for this series of blackbirds comes from famous lyrics.
Paul McCartney was supposed to have explained that the song “Blackbird” was inspired by seeing a blackbird in India and by thinking about the civil rights movement. My blackbird paintings were inspired by his lyrics, seeing a bird on a walk, and my mother dying.
Here are the lyrics of Paul McCartney’s that inspired my paintings…
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free
Blackbird fly, blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.
-The Beatles
Other Song Inspirations
As I continued to paint little birds over the last weeks I remembered another song that I love that I first heard by the folk singer, Cat Stevens. It was originally a Christian hymn by Eleanor Farjeon in the 1930’s, inspired by her home and Scottish Gaelic music. So now, the threads of the blackbird art mingled with other iterations through time as I painted and I felt more connected to the precocious birds, to other artists and to my emotions as I continued to paint.
experimenting painting with non dominant hand and heavy layers of gouache paint in my sketchbook
Interestingly when I looked up the hymn, I found it was originally sung in children’s services and funerals before being popularized by the pop/folk musician. It’s changed slightly along with the name but has always had the reference to a blackbird singing.
Inspired by Singing Blackbirds
Here’s the 1931 version :
Morning has broken
Like the first morning,
Blackbird has spoken
Like the first bird.
Praise for the singing!
Praise for the morning!
Praise for them, springing
Fresh from the world!
Sweet the rain's new fall
Sunlit from heaven,
Like the first dewfall
On the first grass.
Praise for the sweetness
Of the wet garden,
Sprung in completeness
Where his feet pass.
Mine is the sunlight!
Mine is the morning
Born of the one light
Eden saw play!
Praise with elation,
Praise every morning,
God's re-creation
Of the new day!
-Eleanor Farjeon
Fat, wonky, fun blackbirds
Last Thoughts…
When I arrived back in Spain a friend asked about my family visit. How does one describe the dying and funeral of her parent? It was horrible, wonderful. An honor to be present. So many family and friends near. So much love. There was her pain. It was a relief to believe my mother’s spirit at some point could fly away. I’m not alone in grief. The world is full of pain and suffering. There’s plenty of grief of one kind or another. Many people my age are losing their parents from this earth. I don’t have answers about the mysteries that surround us- I don’t understand all the threads that are visible or invisible, but, I do believe…
You’re not alone
The world is horrible/wonderful, ugly/beautiful
We always can learn
There are many types of freedom and bondage
Morning always comes
Finally, art, nature, and humor add grace to our lives.
