Fancy Bird 1953

This print of a fancy bird was made by Milton Avery, and I can just imagine him carving into the block, figuring out how to make this image with such simple means. The black ink sits powerfully against the olive green background, and it feels as though Avery is trying to catch something essential about the bird. You know, it's not just about what a bird looks like, but about its presence, its weight, its movement. The criss-cross marks on the body – are they feathers, or just a way to give the bird some volume? Avery's work reminds us that painting, printmaking, all these things, are about making choices. How much detail do you include? How much do you leave out? What feels right? And these questions are not just for the artist, but for us too, as we look and try to make sense of the world around us.