Like Heroes

No. 3 of 3 in the Migration series

A flock moves across water at sunset, each bird physically lifted from the surface of the painting.

Like Heroes is the third painting in the Migration series, and the one in which the possibilities of the carp leather became clearest to me.

The large ripples and waves in the water are the natural undulations of the leather itself. Rather than flattening them, I painted across the raised surface from different directions, using thin glazes of blue, pale orange, pink, and yellow to turn the existing texture into reflected light.

The birds are created from individual scale pockets already present in the carp leather. I lift selected pockets from the surface, then add subtle shadows and warm highlights so they begin to read as a flock passing just above the water.

The painting changes dramatically as you move past it. From the left, the surface appears predominantly deep blue, with only a few highlights catching the highest waves. From the right, the water lights up with pale orange, yellow, and pink. In lower light, much of the painting recedes while a few fluorescent yellow-orange highlights remain visible, like the last traces of sunlight reflecting on the water.

At 16 × 22 inches, Like Heroes is an intimate painting with a surprisingly expansive sense of movement. From a distance, it reads as birds flying toward the evening light. Up close, the natural seams, raised scale pockets, and physical topography of the carp leather reveal how little of the image had to be invented.

The title comes from the flock flying off into the sunset, like the hero riding toward the horizon at the end of an old Western.