Artinua Arts

The Aviary Art Show : 7 : Cardinal Couple

2009-01-16T06:26:00.000-08:00

View Painting

*This post is the seventh in The Aviary Art Show series of paintings and posts, from the

Aviary Art Gallery" of wild bird paintings at Artinua.Org .*

Titled "Cardinal Couple", this oil painting is of two cardinals huddled together and set against a snowy winter background.

Colorful cardinals, also known as red birds, are a common songbird in north america. Present year-round in the southern states, their songs are among the first of the morning regardless of the season. When I was growing up, a pair of cardinals nested outside my window without fail each Spring. I would awaken to their songs, check the progress of the eggs in their nest and watch them raise their young.

A dog that I had raised quickly assumed responsibility for guarding the young from cats and other dogs, even going so far as to gently pick up the fledglings in his mouth and return them to the area near the nest when they wandered. He had not been trained for this. It came naturally to him. Respectful of the parents' needs to feed the young birds, he would retreat to a safe distance to allow them to feed the young ones, returning only when it was necessary. This was his sole occupation while the young were most vulnerable each year. Of course, his behavior surprised us all at first, but each year was the same and it became a part of our lives and his. It made me wonder. If a dog can respect the life of an unrelated species, recognize it's weakness, nurture and protect it, how is it that humans have so much difficulty doing the same even for their own?

While painting this I found myself contemplating those cardinals, who mate for life, but also the nature of compassion, fidelity and love in the humans in my own life. In this regard at least, this is as much a fantasy painting as anything else, but sometimes a little fantasy is all that we need to get us through the difficult seasons of our lives. In this, as in all of my paintings, I portray the inner natures of the people I know as wildlife and flowers etc. I also endeavor to relate the qualities that we generally consider human that these creatures so often display. These are, after all, the qualities that so often endear us to our pets as well as to wild animals, like these faithful, parental little birds.

The original painting is presented in a diagonal canvas with painted edges.

Title : Cardinal Couple

Media : Oil on canvas,

Artist : Victoria John (Ritterbush)

Description: Cardinal mates huddle against a winter scene.

Artinua.Org

Powered by Sun & Wind

The Aviary Art Show : 6 : Archibald

2009-01-08T06:48:00.000-08:00

View Larger

View Print

*This post is the sixth in The Aviary Art Show series of paintings and posts, from the

Aviary Art Gallery" of wild bird paintings at

Artinua.Org .*

Titled "Archibald", this oil painting is of a black-crowned night heron, a wild bird common to southeast Louisiana.

Black crowned night herons are common to several continents and are used as an indicator of the health of the ecosystem in wetland and coastal areas. Feeding nocturnally, absorbed in watching the waters edge and stalking fish, they were common companions to fishermen along the shores of Lake Pontchartrain and other areas of the Gulf Coast. Just the sight of one brings back memories of evenings spent at the parks lining the Lake Pontchartrain seawall, eating snowballs, watching the sun set on sailboats returning to harbor, feeding the seagulls, and occasionally fishing quietly next to my father.

Nicknamed "Archibald" and "The Magician" by family members, the original painting, while complete in itself, will be framed with recycled computer components before further display and sale.

Title : Archibald

Media : Oil on canvas,

Artist : Victoria John (Ritterbush)

Description: A black crowned night heron in a grassy wetland setting.

Artinua.Org

Powered by Sun & Wind

The Aviary Art Show : 5 : Great Pair

2008-12-16T06:27:00.000-08:00

View Full

View Print and Cards

*This post is the fifth in The Aviary Art Show series of paintings and posts, from the Aviary Art Gallery" of wild bird paintings at Artinua.Org .*

Having heeded the warnings that New Orleans would fill up like a bowl in a major storm our family finally had that last good reason needed to make the move to an outlying suburban community. Like many other families seeking high ground, better schools, safer neighborhoods, better streets and more, we left the things, places and people that we loved and migrated north. Like these great egrets perched in the canopy over the swamp, we perched above the swamps and low-lying areas on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain.

New Orleans lies on the south shore of the lake, a 24-mile long bridge away. Like many families who sought refuge from the urban decay and flooding, we commuted back into the city frequently. What were daily trips at first gradually became semi-weekly and eventually infrequent or rare. Like so many who have left urban areas we gradually divorced ourselves from the businesses that we had once frequented, choosing to patronize those nearer to our new home. We began to seek entertainment and activities locally. Crime rates and long commutes caused us to reconsider even the festivals that had once drawn us into the city. Once-close friends and relatives faded into the obscurity of distance as new relationships were cultivated with those who shared our new community and our reasons for leaving.

Having "escaped" the cultural decay, anticipating the failure of the levees to come, and surrounded by the beauty of a new community with low crime and many assets, a heaviness and longing had settled on my heart. We make these choices I thought, just as immigrants make these choices, to leave the comfort of the familiar behind and take chances for their own futures and the futures of their children and grandchildren. Like them I longed to help my former community survive, grow and prosper.

There is a kind of survival guilt that comes with avoiding or overcoming those things, people, places and events that have affected others adversely. It prompts people to activism, to putting themselves in harms way to help in recovery efforts and to donations to charity. Some return to resettle and contribute. Others never experience these things, but move on with their lives without looking back. It was in a state of thoughtfulness about this that I painted this painting in 2004.

Title : Great Pair

Media : Acrylic on canvas,

Artist : Victoria John (Ritterbush)

Description: Two great egrets perch in lush cypress canopy high above the swamp below.

Artinua.Org

Powered by Sun & Wind

The Aviary Art Show : 4 : Grace

2008-12-09T07:38:00.000-08:00

View a higher resolution print at RedBubble

*This post is the fourth in The Aviary Art Show series of paintings and posts, from the Aviary Art Gallery" of wild bird paintings at Artinua.Org .*

Nestled into the swamps, bayous and lakes of southeast Louisiana, life in the New Orleans area is one of contrasts. Spanish and French architecture, wrought iron and a vibrant arts community in and around the French Quarter plays host to the broader celebrations of Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest and other celebrations of the culture and music of the diverse population. Surrounded by water, recreational boating, fishing villages and communities of people that bring cultural contributions, celebrations and arts from around the world, the area is world famous for the cooperative spirit with which all groups live together, work together, survive together.

While the shared experiences of celebration, food, music and more create a unique culture in and around southeast Louisiana; the shared experiences of adversity through the frequent threats and occasional widespread destruction from flooding and hurricanes also serve to provide a common ground from which people can relate to one another. Whether it is the potholed streets from subsiding soils, or the mucking out that follows a flood of even a few inches, locals share stories, survival tips and nod and laugh knowingly at these experiences common to life in this place.

It is that ability to look beyond the negatives to revel in the positives that shows the grace of those who make their lives here. Ask anyone who lives here if they could relocate and their first objection would be the loss of the local food in all of it's diversity of styles. Springtime brings roadsides and gardens bursting with bright pink azaleas and purple wisteria. Summer brings festivals and explorations into the parks and wild spaces brimming with wildlife. Year-round preparations go into Mardi Gras, a region-wide free party hosted by the locals for all comers. Then of course there is the music. In this place that brought some of the greatest musicians, bands and genres to the music scene, world-class music is available day and night throughout the year. These are just a few of the many things about this place that keep the locals here and bring others back again and again. These are the things I learned from growing up in this place and from my mother, who always overcame the adversities of life through her ability to find the good or at least the humorous in all people, events and circumstances.

Title : Grace

Media : Acrylic on canvas,

Artist : Victoria John (Ritterbush)

Description: A solitary snowy egret perches above the swamp in this painting.

Artinua.Org

Powered by Sun & Wind

The Aviary Art Show : 3 : "Wetlands : Esprit du Corps?"

2008-12-03T10:11:00.000-08:00

View Full

*This post is the third in The Aviary Art Show series of paintings and posts, from the Aviary Art Gallery" of wild bird paintings at Artinua.Org .*

The annual preparations for 'the Atlantic hurricane season' are a way of life for those who live, work and volunteer along vulnerable coastal areas. Part of that preparedness depends upon the lessons learned from prior experiences; experiences which have shown themselves to be a poor match for the most recent cycle of stronger, super-sized hurricanes. As the trends toward larger, more powerful and more frequent hurricanes become apparent, residents along the Gulf Coast of the United States have come to depend on man-made interventions and protections as replacements for the natural protections that are disappearing at an alarming rate.

Fortunately, both individuals and governments have become increasingly aware of the importance of coastal restoration to the protection of people and property. The question, as sea levels rise, is if it is too little too late. Hopefully the preservation of wetlands will become essential parts of the decision-making process at all levels. Until then, many along the Gulf Coast brace themselves in uneasy anticipation each hurricane season, prepared to evacuate, watchful of the weather, hoping for the best and mindful of the worst that can and has happened, and, ultimately, depending on the protection of the levees and other flood-control structures that failed them in the past.

Related Articles

Title : Wetlands : Esprit du Corps?

Media : Oil on canvas, found-object sculpture

Artist : Victoria John (Ritterbush)

Description: Two great blue herons stand together in a rainy wetland setting as the sun sets and a storm approaches on the horizon. In keeping with the themes of environmental protection and disaster recovery this artwork is painted on a recycled canvas from a Habitat for Humanity ReStore. The sculptural frame includes recycled and salvaged materials, including antique cypress barge boards.

Opportunities to volunteer in your area

Artinua.Org

Powered by Sun & Wind

The Aviary Art Show : 2 : "Disconnected"

2008-11-26T06:08:00.000-08:00

View Full

*This post is the second weekly issue in The Aviary Art Show series of paintings and posts, from the Aviary Art Gallery of wild bird paintings at Artinua.Org .*

In the weeks following the hurricane, the blockades were lifted, electricity and communications began to be restored and we heard from or heard news of at least some of the relatives and friends who had been unaccounted for. The counts of missing people diminished as the body counts rose. The people began to return, some for a few hours to assess the damage and salvage what they could, others to make repairs and resume their lives. During this time everyone shared their stories, of evacuations, of survival and of the return home. Friends and strangers alike listened, shared hugs and they helped each other to heal.

The most compelling of the many stories I later heard were those of the remarkable men and women who stayed on in the hospitals, in some cases in the absence of power to drive equipment or run air conditioning in the sweltering heat. Without adequate sanitation or refrigeration, these people stayed when they could have left. Whether it was doctors taking shifts at keeping a newborn's heart beating, a nurse sleeping in her car in the parking garage or anyone on the staff who struggled to provide comfort to patients, they represent a group of largely unsung heroes. For too long, understaffed, with too few provisions and under extreme stress, these brave individuals stood by their commitment to some of the most vulnerable people in the New Orleans area, improvising and waiting for help to arrive. Most remarkable perhaps, upon talking to these people after the event, was that every single one that I spoke with would volunteer to do it all over again.

Three years later I still wonder about the people who've wandered from our lives over the years and whose fates may never be known. The sadness and triviality of those things that divide not only communities, but friends and families, like fear, gossip, judgments and the casual nature with which we move through the places and people in our lives, weighed heavily on my mind. The carelessness with which our culture divests itself of responsibility for it's elderly and it's poor were laid bare for the world to see. If we learned nothing else from this storm, but that we each have a personal responsibility to stay in touch with family, friends and neighbors then we have learned a great deal.

It seems that we failed to realize the potential of this place and became a region of scattered and disconnected families, refugees from bad schools, crime and economic decay, stratified by personal successes and failures and divided into different denominations, sub-cultures and political groups. Sadly, we had become all of this and more, even before the tragedy of a hurricane made it apparent. The bonds that once held families and communities together through multiple generations had somehow become unravelled, and the death toll, especially that of the sick and of the abandoned elderly in this once great city stood as a testament to the loss of the single greatest and most healing gift that this region had to give it's inhabitants, a sense of togetherness, of family, of community and of a shared culture of cultures. The music of New Orleans, like any place, is not a musical genre, but that healing sense of a common social culture, the healing energy of laughter, joy, festivity, charity and compassion that brought not just people, but souls, together, not under a single family roof, or that of a single church, but under the knowledge that we are one, sharing our breath, our environment, our resources, and our celebrations of our brief time in this remarkable place of swamps, bayous and marshes abundant with swaying moss, flowers and wildlife.

Some people say that New Orleans will become a theme park of high-priced development, and the poor and the undesirable will be driven out in favor of a neat, idealized tourist attraction. How could that happen? What they may have overlooked is that it is the healing music of the people cooperating and interacting with one another and with this place that made it attractive, and only through that integration of cultures, socioeconomic groups and personal expression can we hope to bring about the realization of it's great potential. The famous open-armed hospitality of the people, present still and passed down from the days when the indians first helped others survive and flourish in this place, can bring out the best of what this region once was and will be.

This post and painting are dedicated to the people who always have food on the stove to share with visitors, to those who always find room for unexpected guests, to the fisherman who shares his catch with his neighbors, the boy who practices on his saxophone on his way home from school, the man who sells fresh greens from his garden on the tailgate of an old pickup truck, the artist who sells his paintings on the street, the Mardi Gras indian who labors all year to sew his grand costume, the homeless musicians who remain to share their gifts where they can and all of the other people who are working to rebuild this unique regional society and to bring their families home. Most importantly, though, to all of the health care workers, volunteers and good neighbors who selflessly gave of their time and sacrificed their comfort and personal safety for the people of the Gulf Coast during this and other
disasters.

Find opportunities to volunteer in your area.

Support the New Orleans Musician's Clinic

You can view the original oil painting of American Goldfinches, with a sculptural frame of recycled materials here.

Learn more about goldfinches.

Artinua.Org

Powered by Sun & Wind

The Aviary Art Show : 1 : Nola Vanitas Unveiled

2008-11-18T06:48:00.001-08:00

View Full

This is the first in a series of original oil paintings of wild birds to be included in The Aviary Art Show by wildlife artist Victoria A. John. The oil painting of a tree swallow is framed by the sculpture of a window.

In August of 2005, a massive hurricane called Katrina devastated parts of the southern part of the United States known as the Gulf Coast. The storm destroyed entire communities in Louisiana and Mississippi, and while the world-famous city of New Orleans was largely spared, levee failures resulted in one of the most devastating events of our time. It was during this event and in it's aftermath, that the cries of the people of New Orleans were heard around the world. This was my city, my home, and my people, and my heart broke with them.

In the suburban areas around New Orleans, where many of us had fled years before in search of better schools, lower crime and a cleaner environment we were without electricity and largely unable to obtain even the most basic necessities. Telephone lines were down; as were cell towers. In this void, only those with satellite access were able to see what the rest of the world was seeing on their televisions and computers. For those of us without these resources there were live radio broadcasts of frantic callers from inside the city, screaming, crying and begging for help that, in many cases, was too late in arriving.

As an artist, I found that the oil painting alone couldn't express all that I felt or thought about the event. By placing the painting into a frame that is also a sculpture I was able to arrive at a more complete artistic expression. The title of this artwork is a combination of Nola; which is a common reference to New Orleans, and Vanitas, a reference to emptiness. The No La also refers to New Orleans, Louisiana and the absence of la, or the "song" of the people of New Orleans that is the treasure that made New Orleans such an extraordinary experience, and more than any place or city could ever be.

As a hub city for the coastal area surrounding it, New Orleans had more than it's own unique history of Spanish, French and American rule; it also had the flavors and cultures of people from around the world, nestled in the swamps and bayous of it's original inhabitants. Sharing their love of food, music, celebration, and all kinds of multi-cultural contributions, this city of small businesses, front porches, parade routes and so much more, had arrived in that moment to a point of complete emptiness, empty of joy, empty of dance and empty of song.

More about New Orleans

Nola Vanitas Unveiled: Part 1 of the online version of The Aviary Art Show, copyright 2008, Victoria John (Ritterbush). You can view more work by this artist at Artinua.Org.

Powered by Sun & Wind