Untitled (Three Turkeys)

2025, oil on linen, artwork: 16 × 20 inches, frame: walnut with black interior finish

On Barberry Hill, turkeys roam our meadows and woodlands all year round — leaving tracks in new snow, competing in spring mating rituals, leading chicks through summer grass, and by fall gathering in flocks dozens-strong to feed on seeds and nuts.

Untitled (Three Turkeys) belongs to my recent series of birds. I painted it in several layers of neutral tones on a coarse linen weave, scraping, repainting, and scraping again, building a soft, textural surface. In the work, the birds barely emerge from the ground — my attempt to capture the way these gentle creatures, walking quietly with heads bobbing, dissolve into the land at twilight. It is the feeling of a momentary glimpse of nature in quiet balance that I seek to capture — through color, texture, and simplicity.