soaring above

I started this painting for a Seed & Sky design yesterday. I have a looooong list of paintings and images that I want to paint and a red-tailed hawk has been at the top of that list for a long time.

Here is how the beginning of this image came to be:
I went for a walk with the kids. It was a warm sunny day with a thick blue sky. Walking with kids is not a form of exercise because there is a pit stop every few feet or so. Sparkling mica in some sand, some dog poop to ponder, a stick to pick up, a bug, backwards 10 feet to jump off a rock, run 12 feet forward at the begging of Mom, trip and fall, tears for a minute, an airplane to stare at... you get the idea.  I was trying my best to enjoy them, the day, and not focus too much on our destination (the mailbox) down the road.
Meanwhile, a turkey vulture was flying high in the sky and at first glance I thought it was a hawk, which reminded me of an old friend who loves red-tailed hawks. Whenever I am with her she sees them. They pop out of the woodwork like waldo in a where's waldo book for her I swear. It is hard to know if she simply has a better eye for them than I do or if they appear more in her life than mine. It is hard to say. Anyhow, she loves them, and I love them because she loves them. And I am always hoping to see one.

Birds of prey have keen eyesight and a unique perspective about the world. With all of the emotions I am feeling this week I found myself longingly looking up at the bird in the sky feeling like my heart might feel different if I were soaring instead of plodding. Not that there is anything wrong with going slow or feeling overwhelmed with emotions~ on the contrary~ but to be up so high riding on the wind~ maybe I would see the bigger picture better. Make more sense of the world and of life and death.  You know?

So there you have it. My current project is in part dedicated to my friend Christine (and all of the other hawk lovers out there) and another part an homage to living in the moment and seeing the larger picture.