Branching out....another Rover odyssey.

Branch Line

(Approximately 8.75 x 21", Oil on Canvas)   Price: $850.00  SOLD

 This little painting was started as a demonstration in the art show painting space at Boskone science fiction convention in February of this year. I knew I had to paint SOMETHING as a demo, but this idea didn't come to fruition until just a couple of days before we left for the show. I quickly marshaled Rover and my props (a branch off the kindling pile near the studio fireplace) and headed down to the basement for a photo shoot. Rover performed his modeling duties with his usual panache and enthusiasm and I quickly got to sketching.

Then I needed some birds to ride around on Rover's branch. I wanted something colourful and cheeky and was naturally drawn to the Fairy Wrens native to my homeland, Australia. Quirky, cheeky, and full of personality, these little birds were ideal. The white and taupe coloured ones are the females and the iridescent blue ones are the males. Two of the lads are kind of 'circling the wagons' around their little huddle of 'wives' when an interloper, another male, lands nonchalantly on the end of the branch. It's a cute tableau amidst Rover's unflagging enthusiasm in giving his new friends a ride.

During the demo, I got the entire background painted, wet in wet, as I am wont to do for the robot paintings. Got the branch completed and all of Rover painted in except for the eyes, hook, and spots. It took me another several months to find time to paint the birds and finish Rover, but I finally got it done in time to go to Illuxcon in October and find a new home. I'm not sure everyone gets the intention of the title of this painting. A 'branch line' is the name for a subsidiary train line, usually leading to a village or other remote spot from the main train lines traversing England. One would travel on the local branch line train to get to the mainline and larger towns and/or cities. A lot of them have been closed down now in light of new transportation modes, but for many decades last century, they were the lifeline of the country. So, in remembrance of those times, and a bit of quirkiness in my own sense of humour, I named this painting after them.

All of the usual suspects were used on my palette for this painting. However, I did include a bit of Pthalo Turquoise, Cobalt Blue, and Cerulean when painting the lads.

Thanks for stopping by,

Cheers,
Marianne