Impact

This painting examines the complex and often ironic relationship between human affection for animals and our role in biodiversity loss. At its center, a pair of house finches attempts to build a fragile nest inside a decorative bird feeder, while a domestic cat lurks nearby, indifferent to the life it threatens. Invasive Acacia trees spread across the background, quiet agents of ecological displacement.

The swirling backdrop was created using suminagashi, an ancient Japanese technique of floating ink on water. Lightly transparent, it allows the natural wood grain to remain visible—its organic patterns echoing both the marbling of the ink and the quiet tension woven throughout the scene. Impact challenges the disconnect between sentiment and consequence: the same hands that feed birds may unwittingly endanger them, reflecting a broader tension between love, control, and ecological responsibility.

A portion of proceeds supports large-scale land conservation through Art to Acres.