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| Snowy Owl, Bubo scandiaca. Plum Island, Newburyport, MA, USA. 2012 |
Not often do you juxtapose two seemingly separate events and have
them mesh as beautifully as they did last weekend. First stop was the
Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, a birding hotspot in
Massachusetts, to find a Snowy Owl. Second stop was the Mass Audubon
Visual Arts Center in Canton to view an exhibit of the bird paintings of
Robert Verity Clem (1933-2010).
The moment of synchrony came when we stood before Clem's painting
of a Snowy Owl perched on a grassy sand dune in coastal Massachusetts.
Just hours before, we ourselves had been looking into the eyes of
another such bird, in a similar setting - absolutely magical.
A few notes about both of these outings.
The
wildlife refuge protects Plum Island and the saltmarshes of the Parker
River, in Newburyport, Massachusetts. In winter, it's a haven for
geese, ducks, raptors and yes, owls. In spring and summer, you'll see
migratory and nesting warblers, flycatchers, wading birds and more.
The
Visual Arts Center houses Mass Audubon's extensive art collection,
shared with the public through exhibitions in the beautiful gallery
space, lectures and art classes. On display were 40 paintings, a few
pencil drawings and some of Clem's sketchbooks. Robert Clem worked in
watercolor, and with beauty and precision, painted birds in their
natural surroundings. His observation of every detail was acute, his ability to express atmospheric light and shadow was masterful. In 1967, with author Peter Matthiesson,
he produced The Shorebirds of North America, a classic work of both
graceful prose and gorgeous paintings. Several of these original
paintings were on display.
A day to nourish the senses in so many ways.
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