OPA: Sparrow portrait

Title: Female sparrow portrait
Medium: Etching aquatint
Creator: Jenny McCabe

I have wanted one of Jenny’s bird prints for as long as I’ve followed her on Instagram, but the combination of them always selling out quickly, me being bad at checking my email, and my indecision means I have missed out in the past. And I thought I had missed out again when I saw the latest notification email a couple of hours after it arrived, but I was lucky and there were a few bird portraits left. I was tempted by both the starling and the thrush, but I chose this one for nostalgic reasons: it reminds me of growing up on the farm where the hedges would be filled with sparrows.

The true warmth of the inks doesn’t come across in the photos, either mine or Jenny’s, but it made me catch my breath as I opened the package and revealed the print for the first time.

I’m always fascinated by the creative and practical processes that artists use in the creation of their works and Jenny shares so much about her work, both on her website and on Instagram.