Midnight Passage

No. 2 of 3 in the Migration series

A flock moves across dark water illuminated by moonlight, each bird physically lifted from the surface of the painting.

Midnight Passage grew from the same discovery that began with Migration: the scale pockets of the carp leather could become birds. Here, the idea shifts into night. I lifted individual scale pockets to shape the flock, then built layers of deep blue, black, and silvery color around them, allowing the natural texture of the leather to become the movement of water.

The moonlight shifts as you move past the painting, appearing and disappearing depending on the viewing angle. The raised birds and their shadows create the illusion of a flock passing just above the surface.

At 16 × 22 inches, Midnight Passage is an intimate artwork with an unusually changeable presence. From a distance, it reads as a quiet passage over moonlit water. Up close, the dimensional birds, natural seams, and intricate texture of the carp leather emerge, while the reflected moonlight subtly changes with your position.