This piece depicts a typical underwater Gulf Coast scene of a bayou, bay, or other brackish water river system. Fallen trees and aquatic grass dot the floor, baitfish swim about in the distance, and a Gulf shrimp is illuminated by the sunlight breaking past the water's surface. From the depth, a redfish (a.k.a., red drum) swirls and swims up to prey upon the shrimp. The feather is a genuine turkey feather fused and wrapped to an antique (possibly 1950s to 1970s era) broken fiberglass fishing rod tip. This piece comes professionally double-matted and framed with glare-resistant (museum​/​art gallery grade) glass. It also will come with an Artist's Certificate of Authenticity.

Artist Note

This one-of-a-kind work is done by the award-winning heritage artist, Ken Johnson. He exclusively paints pictures on real feathers. Ken is a 7th generation native of Florida. He grew up hunting and fishing along the Gulf Coast of the United States of America. This particular piece came about after Ken suffered a traumatic car wreck, in 2019, where he was rear-ended at a stop light, knocked unconscious, and taken to the ER. It took him years to recover, and, at the time, he really didn't know if he'd be able to paint again as he was suffering from issues like temporarily forgetting English (his native tongue), not being able to get words out (aphasia), damage to his eyes, photophobia, debilitating daily migraines, and crippling pain. Ironically, the wreck caused some sort of secondary PTSD-like trigger response every time he tried to do art...something that he dearly loved. Determined not to give up, he ultimately turned his frustrations and angst towards his art to pour out his soul. Often through a copious amount of tears, and PTSD-like triggered episodes, he created a short-lived series called "Broken Artist, Broken Feathers, Broken Rods..." Friends and family donated their broken rod tips to his art as he struggled to break past the limitations of his condition. Sometimes, he'd paint all day, all night, and into the next morning; fighting against the darkness, exhausted, and spent. The art is meant to depict what can be done through brokenness and grief when one is fueled by motivation to say, "This is not my final state. I do not end here." It is a triumph over one's soul-crushing darkness that can often obfuscate the beauty and splendor of life. This piece is the artist's testimony that not only does life go on but he, and his art, will go on so long as there is breath in his lungs and determination in his heart.

Materials

Art frame (frame, glare-resistant glass, double matting), turkey feather, antique fiberglass rod tip