My bird portraits were originally inspired by visits to the National Portrait Gallery, and my favourite room, full of Tudor portraits of Kings and Queens in all their finery.
I adore the deep blue backgrounds, the meticulous depictions of their jewels, their furs and pets; and the wildly ornate frames. It led me to think about making these extra characters centre stage! One painting in particular, A Lady with a Squirrel and a Starling (Anne Lovell?) by Hans Holbein the Younger, caught my imagination.
I started to think about bird portraits… of attempting to catch the character of different birds…. in mosaic! My bird portraits are affectionate and playful, but I attempt to give them the gravitas that comes with a formal portrait.
The framing is vital and must reflect the character of each individual bird.
Many of Holbein’s miniatures are circular and it’s a very appealing shape. I have long had a passion for vintage china, and felt there was an affinity between stunning old plates and the decorative elements of the framing of Tudor portraits. I wondered if there was a way to cut the centre out of a china plate, to produce a stunning circular frame.
I have experimented, and now found a way to drill into the middle of a plate, then saw a disc out of the centre. This leaves me with a kind of vintage china frame! Into this, I insert a piece of mdf, onto which I can make my mosaic bird.
Inspired by the method of making Smalti mosaics, where the fragments are placed very close together and not grouted, I have found I can create an intensity of colour and pattern. I meticulously cut and stick tiny fragments of glass and ceramic – painting with tiles – to create the feathers and contours of each bird. I usually start with the eye, or eyes, and it is remarkable how this determines the character the bird will take; some haughty and proud, some timid, some perky!
Many of the birds are for sale so please contact me for more details if you’re interested in buying one.
