Wednesday, June 05, 2013

"Window Shopper" oil, crow painting by Robin Weiss

"Window Shopper" 8x6 oil on panel  Sold,.. kinda


I'm always taking pictures of crows....and even though they sell really well I don't often paint them...My friend Leigh uses crows in her artwork all the time and sells a lot of them. I had the photo ref for this painting laying around the studio for a long time and picked it up last week for a warm up piece. As soon as I posted the thing on facebook it sold!.....I can't figure out what it is about crows!....Anyway. I painted another one and if you are interested you can still buy this painting!....It's a little different but pretty close.. How can you  pass up a crow painting!...=]

If I sell this one I'm going to paint another....just to see how far this will go..I may end up painting a "murder" of crows...


What’s a murder of crows?
A group of crows is called a “murder.” There are several different explanations for the origin of this term, mostly based on old folk tales and superstitions.
For instance, there is a folktale that crows will gather and decide the capital fate of another crow.
Many view the appearance of crows as an omen of death because ravens and crows are scavengers and are generally associated with dead bodies, battlefields, and cemeteries, and they’re thought to circle in large numbers above sites where animals or people are expected to soon die.
But the term “murder of crows” mostly reflects a time when groupings of many animals had colorful and poetic names. Other fun examples of “group” names include: an ostentation of peacocks, a parliament of owls, a knot of frogs, and a skulk of foxes.











5 comments:

Darrell Anderson said...

I love crows and you've painted this one so well. Like the composition also.

Lavon said...

Robin, I love crows, too. Guess I should post one of mine on DPW so you could see it. The orange really sets it off. I also like the glossy feathers you gave it. NICE!! The little pops of blue , red and orange in the bush is a nice accent. The shadow the crow casts on the sill is cool, too. All in all, an excellent painting.

Ann said...

This is a great blog post, interesting background info! And the painting is a winner too!

Teri said...

Hi Robin! Love your crow. Don't know if you have heard of Sarah Asper-Smith's children's book, A Smack of Jellyfish, but it is such a sweet book about the names of groups of animals.
Best wishes and I love your plein air works!

Robin Weiss said...

Thank you for all the kind comments! since this painting I've taken a few more crow pictures!...=]