Seven blackbirds fly up from seven groups of trees set in this marsh. These trees in a straight line might once have laced a road to a farmhouse, but now nothing is left in this regularly flooded valley but the skeletons of the trees themselves, which make good resting places for the red-winged blackbirds that love this marsh. Both the trees and the birds seem to warn us of the dark spilling from the hills beyond. This painting is based on reference photos I took at Catherine Creek Watershed in upstate NY. I loved to visit this marshy area at all times of year. Always changing, it was full of twisted trees, reeds, and sweet songs of red-winged blackbirds.

The original oil painting is 12 x 36"/30 x 91cm on cotton canvas with a 3/4"/2cm profile and is ready to frame.