Art Deco Owl

This painting is about the intrinsic connection between stillness and wisdom. When we slow down, the answers to life's questions can present themselves on a deeper, more intuitive level. The Barred Owl's contrasting feathered-beauty blends in with the snowy environment where even more patience and wisdom is required from the owl to survive the lean meals of winter. I wanted to give an actionable presence to you, as the observer of the owl, to look out and connect through direct eye contact to the wisdom of the owl within your heart and mind through a FLW-inspired stained glass border. The bottom of the border is intentionally a highly abstracted Art Deco owl with its wings spread wide to give lift and support to our invitation in finding the stillness. A reminder to pause and look deeper within ourselves, while living in our busy modern world.

The motif of "the wise old owl" dates back centuries, and I dive into the iconography, illustrations, and posters of this theme and more about my owl painting in my blogpost: The Origin of The Wise Old Owl.

*Artwork and words (illuminated verse) by Julie Leidel, 2023.