The Golden Five

Watercolor & 24-ct gold leaf on paper, 56 x 22 cm, Private Collection

These beautiful, colorful birds are the ‘golden five’—the hoopoe, roller, golden oriole, bee-eater and kingfisher— summer visitors to Southern Europe and Iran, wintering in Africa. A birdwatcher friend of mine once identified them as the five most vividly colorful birds that you might hope to see in the Mediterranean. I’m fascinated by these small birds that migrate such a long way. I’m often drawn to paint them. This story, and a painting of the 14th-century Vyssi Brod European Gothic-style altarpiece sent to me years ago on a postcard from Prague, was the very first inspiration for my series of paintings with gold leaf. I like working in this tall format, reminiscent of old Japanese screens. People who buy these long paintings often hang two or three in a group together.