Mass Ascension
Oil on Linen
60 x 108 in., Triptych
Available through Gallery Wild
Patricia A Griffin had read about the numbers expected and drove with anticipation to witness the snow geese migration in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Nearing the site, the numbers swelled, and for four hours she watched the geese go from the field to the water and back again. Far in the distance, hundreds of thin threads filled the sky, fresh flocks coming in. The shutter of Griffin’s camera was barely audible over the calls of the downy, white birds. You could recognize the young from the old and see family members reuniting on the ground, after a day of air travel; there were geese everywhere.
They were not one, but one of thousands moving in masses. Snow Geese filled the fields like ten inches of fresh snow, and covered the water like thick ice. The sound, their beauty, the overwhelming numbers, was pure magic.
The sun was setting and the golden warmth of the fields reflecting under the birds. The purple winter sky was above. Griffin felt their vocal vibration in her core. The fields emptied into the sky, creating gushes of wind as the birds ascended in waves, a moving, three-dimensional Jackson Pollack painting with soundtrack of calls and flapping. Nothing could have prepared Griffin for the experience.
Griffin paints from her own images and experiences in the field with her subjects. This Triptych is a part of a series focused on documenting the amazing migrations of animals. The three panel pieces honors the geese, their legacy, and land set aside for them by forward-thinking individuals.
Griffin, is a member of Artists for Conservation. “Mass Ascension” is featured in AFC’s International Exhibit of Nature in Art 2021 hardcover book available September 2021.
See more of Griffin’s work at www.griffingallery.com
