SOLD
#89
Watercolour and Ink
Carole Villeneuve
February 2012
8" x 8"
This painting features a Eurasian Tree Sparrow ready to take
flight from a plum blossom branch.
The Eurasian Tree Sparrow is found in central Europe and eastward
to China, Korea and Japan. A few of these sparrows can be seen
around St. Louis, Missouri, where it was introduced in 1870. It never
migrated much further and remains fairly localized in the Americas.
It is also known as the German Sparrow in America to differentiate
it from the common American Tree Sparrow. This sparrow is often depicted
in Oriental Art. The fluttering of this bird gave rise to
a traditional Japanese dance, the Suzume Odori or Sparrow Dance.
The plum blossom is the national flower in Taiwan. It blooms there
in the snow in late winter and survives the hard frost. It is likened to
a stubborn person who is not afraid of hardships.
