Swansong

39" x 32"/100 x 80cm

Oil on aluminium panel

2021

Finalist in ModPortrait 2021

Finalist in 16th ARC Salon

SOLD

Legend has it that swans sing their most beautiful song just before dying. The painting is about the betrayal of the young and all life by our failure to address climate change. We have created a situation where the options for future generations are fewer, like twisting branches hemming us in. I have used white swans as a metaphor for love, trust, and loyalty. The branches in my painting carry burning thorns, symbolic of betrayal, which are piercing the swans as they sing their dying song. Katy is dressed in the black of mourning, clutching an ash grey veil about her, but that veil offers no warmth or protection. I see the veil as the porosity we develop after we realise we are betrayed. We try to protect ourselves, but our awareness of the betrayal continues to seep in as our trust leaches out.
This is the first of three paintings that express my grief at the damage we are doing to the earth and our childrens’ future. They are proving difficult to paint, because they are a constant reminder of that sorrow.