Rock Dove Painting

Description

Rock Doves are creatures of dignity. Nobody knows for sure when a man first saw a bird. In ancient Mesopotamia, people considered these wild, graceful birds good omens. Nowadays, white doves are symbols of peace. A dove is a bird that looks like a pigeon but is smaller and lighter in colour.

City Pigeons or Doves of peace

There are those who call Rock Doves city pigeons. They think about them no more than ordinary harmful pests. They mean plump, typically gray birds with an iridescent colour neck. These city pigeons survive on every continent but Antarctica. They are highly adaptive and breed excessively.

At the same time, these birds helped unprecedentedly during World War I and World War II. They delivered messages to the frontline when other communication forms failed. Some of these extraordinary creatures were even honoured with medals for their service. Moreover, people started calling them Doves of peace.

I created Illuminated letter D a few years ago. Exactly the idea came to me in 2019 after my short-term visit to London. The work is full of dreams, hopes and expectations.  It combines two types of gilding. The outer border rises slightly above the paper’s surface. This technique of gilding helped to add extra volume to the design. Shell gold of two colours applied in chequered order for additional spakling.  The letter D has intertwining delicate acanthus leaves, carefully painted by hand. In the middle of the painting, you can see a peaceful, dignified Rock Dove looking far into the future.