What it Takes

(The sides have been textured and painted so you can display your new artwork unframed. This is a digital photo. The scans above are more accurate.)

This warm sunny piece is such a treat. It is a bright hopeful gem. And it is far more lovely in person. The scans could not capture the subtle color shifts. This piece has wonderful rich organic textures and a clean open composition that supports the idea of flight and freedom. And it continues my interest in the gentle merging of language and art with a single word painted in small letters below the right corner of the "window". That word reads simply, "Faith". Because faith is always the answer, right?

We are what we believe.

I would like for this glowing symbolic image to bring warmth and inspiration to your home or office.

How What it Takes was created..... After the black acrylic primer dried, I used a palette knife and my fingers to apply fine artist-grade stucco. I spread the stucco in a thin layer along the sides of the canvas and on the edges of the front forming a natural "frame" for the subject. Once that layer dried, I used wide soft brushes to lay down many washes of different shades of yellow and ochre and orange. Then I used a dental tool to scratch lines around a central "window" area. And finally I used detail brushes to paint the beautiful bird and the clean lines and the accents and the word FAITH.

What it Takes was painted on a 6" x 6" stretched canvas. The sides of this piece DO have staples but they are covered by layers of stucco and paint and they do not show at all. This painting looks lovely displayed as it is without framing either directly on the wall or on a small decorative easel. Or it can be easily and affordably framed as it requires no matting or glass.