Winged Pursuit

Winged Pursuit

Clare Wuellner

20” W x 20” H

Stretched Canvas

Limited to 50 prints

In these branches, a bat pursues a moth.

When I first began looking at the bare branches that would become this work, I immediately saw the scalloped branch on the lefthand side that looked like the margin of a bat’s wing. The rest just flowed from that.

This sort of “find” does not happen in every case—far from it! There are many dead ends when looking for things in the negative space among branches. It is absolutely exhilarating when every part of the subject is there to be discovered.

Original Photograph; taken in Brentwood Neighborhood, Austin TX; Modified with Graphic Design Software.

Take Another Look… 

Look closely at the subject within the branches. The silhouetted branches are from a photograph of a tree—most of which are taken in Northcentral Austin. I photograph the tree, isolate the tree’s branches, and then start looking for subjects hidden in the negative space among the branches.

So, yes…

The bat and moth aren't just in the tree—they are delineated by the tree’s branches.

“Clare is a master of negative space, using tree branches and latticework-like stencils for the animals and figures she spots within them. It's this satisfying mix of art and detective work that you'll just have to see for yourself.” 

  ~ Pietschhouse, Creative Media Curator

For information about the enormous colony of Mexican Free-tailed Bats that live under Congress Street Bridge for much of the year:

https://www.austintexas.org/things-to-do/outdoors/bat-watching/

For more information about bats and their importance in our world, visit Bat Conservation, International:

https://www.batcon.org/