Gouldians, 1998

Hunt Slonem (b. 1951-) Gouldians, 1998 Oil on canvas 40 x 30 inches Framed Dimensions: 42h x 32w x 2.50d inches Hunt Slonem's paintings are at once vibrant, energetic and colorful, yet also deeply spiritual and contemplative. The artist creates exotic forms with expressive and highly textural brushstrokes that are full of intense color, loosely inspired by artists of the German Expressionism movement.   Slonem creates beautiful, surprising scenes that offer a calming joy to those who encounter it. From the very beginning, animals and the natural world, most notably birds, have been the central focus of his work. For Slonem, birds signify divinity and transcendence in their ability to leave the realm of earth and its constraints through flight. He sees the ability of birds to fly - to achieve atmospheric height - as a direct metaphor for transcendence from an earthly to a spiritual realm. The impasto of built-up paint on the canvas of Gouldians creates a texture not unlike the feathe