"White Pigeon"

Painted from life.

”White Pigeon” 8”x10” (#406) oil on canvas panel by Lee Gordon Seebach

A True Story

When I lived in Chicago back in the 1970s, I did a lot of painting in what are called "forest preserves." These are areas in and around the city that are city parks but have large wooded areas with streams running through them.

One day, I sat down to paint in one of the preserves on a stream bank with an oil sketchbox on my lap and started to paint a landscape. Almost immediately, a white pigeon flew down to a spot just a few yards away to my left behind a tree root. He just sat there and watched me as I painted. As I worked on the landscape, I thought that he would fly away at any moment, but didn't. So, I slowly reached for an 8"x10" panel, thinking, "OK, if you're going to pose for me, I'll paint you." Expecting him to leave at any time, I started working. But he didn't leave, he just sat and posed, watching me.

I completed the painting in about an hour, and as soon as I was done, he finally decided it was time to leave. As he moved out from behind the root to take flight, I noticed that his right leg was missing. He jumped into the air and flew away.

I thought it was magical and touching how this all happened. It was just the two of us in the woods, enjoying each other's company for a short time. I'll never forget it and I have the painting of my new friend as a momento.

“It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.” - John F. Kennedy
I see my art as lighting some candles.

My website: Seebach Fine Art