Art in the Café • Winged Migration

 

Art in the Café
Winged Migration

Paintings by Suzette Alsop Jones

A flash of movement in the sky overhead, and I am trying to keep my car on the road while glancing up to see if it is a Redtail soaring over the highway and nearby fields. I have always been fascinated by the way a bird angles its wings to ride the wind and the mysterious nature of their seasonal migrations. How do birds navigate from nesting sites, often over thousands of miles, to specific places where winter temperatures and food availability make their lives sustainable? There is so much we don’t know. Research suggests birds guide themselves by the sun, moon, and stars as well as by visual clues such as rivers and coastlines that are passed from older birds to younger ones. Some birds have internal compasses responding to the earth’s magnetic field that help them seek out the specific dune, island, forested hillside, or stand of Jack Pines that their ancestors have sought before. Navigation routes emerging over thousands of years of adaptation weave north-south flyways across the globe.

One February, migration patterns inspired me to visit the Bosque del Apache, a wildlife refuge on the Rio Grande south of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Large wintering flocks of Snow Geese and Sandhill Cranes gather on ponds, flying in huge numbers at dawn and dusk to search for food before starting their long journey north. I will never forget the experience of watching this natural pattern unfold before my eyes. What are the signals that tell them when to lift off all together and that guide them on their way?

Beyond the specifics of each bird, my paintings often explore the visual rhythms, patterns, and naturally chaotic intersections of wings and movements of birds in flight. An underlying flow of energy is what I feel and look for when I lay out a composition.

If you are interested in purchasing a painting, please Suzette at (508) 934-9292 or visit her website www.suzettealsopjones.com