"Lipstick #2" by RobertBaxter Oil on Canvas
Image 28" x 24" Framed 34" x 29"
Below is a poem that inspired this painting:
To paint a bird's portrait
First, paint a cage
with an opened little door
then paint something attractive,
something beautiful,
something of benefit for the bird.
Put the picture on a tree
in a garden
in a wood
or in a forest.
Hide yourself behind the tree,
silent
immovable...
Sometimes the bird arrives quickly
but sometimes it takes years.
Don't be discouraged
wait,
wait for years if necessary
.
The speed or the slowness of the arrival
doesn't have any relationship
with the success of the picture.
When the bird comes ,
if it comes
keep the deepest silence
wait until the bird enters the cage
and when it has entered
Close the door softly with the brush
then remove one by the one all the
bars
care not to touch any feather of the
bird
Then draw the portrait of the tree
choosing the most beautiful branch
for the bird
paint also the green foliage and the
coolness
of the beasts of the grass in the
summer's heat
and then, wait that the bird starts
singing
If the bird doesn't sing
it's a bad sign
it means that the picture is wrong
but if it sings it's a good sign
it means that you can sign
so you tear with sweetness
a feather from the bird
and write your name in a corner of
the painting.
