DOWN UNDER(NEATH)

DOWN UNDER oil on canvas 48 x 24" sold

Underneath all those cleverly protective, water-resistant, aerodynamic, heat-retentive feathers, there is indeed a lot of down. Oh, sure, it’s insulation. But I think it’s largely for snuggling little ones. I also suspect there is good reason for all our bird-related child-rearing terms: we say that expectant mothers possess nesting instincts, that a careful parent is a mother hen, that being protected is taken under someone’s wing, that when our offspring grow up, they spread their wings and fly away, leaving their parents to be empty-nesters. Birds are good at this mothering and rearing stuff. And back in the day, most people had backyard chickens to look to as examples. In my chicken-keeping friend’s backyard, I see all that and the wonders of feathers' beauty and function. I love white on white (and oh, that perfect touch of black in just the right places!). And then there are all those layers overlapping and enfolding each other like an embrace. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't mind being taken under a wing now and then. Warm, protected, and downy underneath...