18x24" app

Oil on Canvas

Available

'Perch' (African Lion & Golden-Bellied Waxbill)

I spent an inordinate amount of time on this smallish picture which is now among my favourites.

The ideas going through my head were many & varied, and the bird species changed several times. In the end it is about the fact that the little finch isn't in the danger that it would appear to be, & will be gone in another second before the king of beasts has time to react. In fact it hopes to leave with some lion hairs to add to its nest.

The picture is an allegory of the events in Iraq, and indeed around the world, where the mighty are suffering hugely at the hands of the small & weak, simply because they are too vast to react to something so small & mobile. The great difference is that the lion will not now roam Africa killing finches, (and many other, finch-like species along the way). It will either put up with the annoyance, or it will move away from the finches area.