A couple of years ago I made painting called 'Twenty Good Summers' in the same format as this which really worked well and was very popular.

I've done several pieces featuring the inimitable Hoopoe, king of birds over the years all of which have flown quickly but hadn't done one in a while.

With the over-mantle format stretcher made up and after working through several ideas it was Hoopoes that sprang to mind.

Perhaps it was simply nostalgia for the south of Spain and seeing them most days, perhaps it was the depths of a dank winter - wishing for warmth and light, probably it was both.

Another fascination from my time in Andalusia are the stark, taught, and sinuously rhythmic forms of the desiccated Almond boughs: hard as iron yet always choreographic.

Forever edging towards a Parliament / Conference of Birds painting in the grand tradition.

Oil on Canvas.

150 × 50cm

© Finn Campbell-Notman, 2025