Swallows and sunshine

 

What a beautiful day. It's sunny and breezy, and the leaves of the silver maple in my backyard are whistling each time the wind blows. 

New Zealand-born artist Adele Earnshaw must have had a day like today in mind when she painted the scene above ("In the Wind," 2008, oil on canvas). The sunlight on the sheets and pillow cases is just like the light dappling the lawn outside my window, and since Barn Swallows can be found just about anywhere on the planet, it's easy to imagine them zipping past laundry waving in the breeze here in Wisconsin, in New Zealand, or anyplace.

Earnshaw's painting is one of 126 original works by 113 artists selected to appear in this year's Birds in Art exhibition, held annually at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin. The show opens three weeks from today, on Saturday, September 6, 2008. --C.H.