One morning, very shortly after I moved to the Hudson Valley, I looked out a second floor window and saw a flock of wild turkeys. I was entranced and delighted, as I still always am when I see turkeys, but there was something odd about this group. One of the birds was practically white. Knowing absolutely nothing about the wildlife in these parts I guessed that perhaps this group had welcomed a white hen or some sort of duck. Nope.

I came to find out that the light gray, practically white bird, was a smoke phase turkey. Not a true albino it retains some of the natural coloring of a wild turkey but its feathers are primarily a soft gray. I painted a watercolor version of this flock. It was one of my very first paintings. I positioned the birds in front of one of my favorite barns, the one with the gray and oxblood paint. This is a reconsidering of that early painting and a retelling of what I saw way back then.

Here is the flock on a glorious autumn day traveling through a field. The grasses are fading to parchment, as are the ferns. The buttonbush has turned red. Trees and bushes are wildly colored. Woodsmoke from the chimneys fills the air with that lovely smell. The sky is moody. There may be a hint of snow in the air. The turkeys are restless, the smoke phase stops to groom herself. A little frog observes.

“Smoke”
Acrylic on birch panel
20 x 16 inches
$1600

This painting is available in my shop here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1340474200/original-acrylic-painting-of-wild?click_key=c0562f837032618839743f4c8e7db56a09ebc416%3A1340474200&click_sum=d431ec44&ref=shop_home_active_1

Prints of this image are available here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1354447555/art-print-original-acrylic-painting-of?click_key=0dbd2844f029a3e56c9717ccd08849c9394aaf0f%3A1354447555&click_sum=a537c3b0&ref=shop_home_active_1

Everything in my shop is 20% off through Tuesday, November 29. No code needed.
Get things while you can because my shop will be closing indefinitely on Wednesday, November 30.

Thank you for following along. Thank you for your interest in my work.
I wish you all the very best of holidays!