This piece is inspired by the song "Bridges and Balloons," written by Joanna Newsom. I love the Decemberists version also. Here are the relevant verses:
We sailed away on a winter's day
With fate as malleable as clay
But ships are fallible, I say
And the nautical, like all things, fades and I
Can recall our caravel:
A little wicker beetle shell
With four fine maste and lateen sails
Its bearings on Cair Paravel
The sight of bridges and balloonsI've had the idea of illustrating this song with a cityscape like this for some time, but was struggling to find a composition I was happy with. It was also a challenge to keep the space looking inhabited without going crazy with the details. I finally landed on focusing the composition on a person with the small canaries and a number of birdcages.
Makes calm canaries irritable
They caw and claw all afternoon "Catenaries and dirigibles
Brace and buoy the living-room
A loom of metal, warp woof wimble"
And a thimblesworth of milky moon
Can touch hearts larger than a thimble
The original is 18"x24", gouache and watercolor on watercolor paper with some color adjustments in the computer.
Here are some details:
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