“The work began long before I picked up a piece of charcoal. Reviewing thousands of bird images I’ve photographed over the years, I noticed an interesting thing. We get caught up in the feather’s beautiful hues. But, what if we took color out of the equation? Would you look past the robin’s red breast and notice his pinstriped throat?”

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This is the question asked and answered by Wendy Bale’s most recent series, “Little Birds”. Zeroing in on the defining elements, from the grosbeak’s large bill to the intense stare of a hawk she pulls out the personality of her subjects.

Cropped tight to focus on these details—each 10x8” artwork is an original. The series of 33 are presented on gesso panels mounted to 3/4” New Zealand pine. The image area is highly textured and details are scratched into the dry and liquid charcoal. After a splash of metallic bronze acrylic, they’re sealed with an archival fixative for a dramatic, frameless presentation. Ready to hang as is, or framed as desired.

“I’ve always been drawn to black and white artwork. With this versatile medium, I both draw and paint, giving many different charcoal effects. This project has forced me to look closely —depicting the essence without relying on color to define the birds.”

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