DELFT - BIRDS
Bird images offer a beautiful and stylish decorative design. Painting a bird relates directly to the way one uses a brush, the shapes of the wings, tail feathers and body very often being illustrated in a simple stroke. Detail is then added with a fine brush. Our painting skills allow us to capture a spontaneous feel to the painting, as seen in seventeenth century examples. Should you require more than twelve designs, we have an extensive portfolio of others to choose from.
Oystercatcher
Birds have been used as a source of decoration from the earliest times. Illustrations of birds have been found on wall paintings in Egyptian tombs, Persian bas-reliefs, Greek frescos and Roman mosaics, not to mention their widespread use in India and far eastern art.
Their portrayal can vary from the formal, such as the Romans' ceremonial eagles, to the reality found in Audubon paintings, to country style chickens painted with energetic strokes of the brush found in Oriental porcelains.
Delft tiles depicting birds appeared very early in the seventeenth century. They were popular images to use both in England and Holland and tile painters could, of course, draw from the source material around them. On their tiles, painters depicted both recognisable images of common birds and imaginary, fantastic creatures. Generally, the depiction of birds on early delft tiles can be divided into the two categories of exotic and native. Extensive travel produced illustrations of foreign lands and their flora and fauna, and pictures of cockatoos, parrots, flamingos and ostriches were available for tile painters to use. Popular native birds shown on delft tiles included geese, owls, pigeons, swans and finches and they were painted with a vivacity and charm that makes them highly collectible today. Our Birds collection includes both exotic and native birds and we continue in the tradition of hand-painting with vivacity and a love for our subject. We have a standard collection of twelve birds, however, we are able to offer many more images if required.