Sandhill Crane ~ "Rejoice" ~ "Oh, to Fly" ~ Watercolor

This sandhill crane original painting is pure celebration. "Rejoice" captures a crane in the middle of its courtship dance — wings lifted, body rising, head thrown back in what can only be described as joy. Sandhill cranes perform this display for a mate, but watching it, you'd swear they're dancing for the sheer pleasure of being alive.

I painted this freehand on archival cotton rag paper using Kissho Gansai pigments from Kyoto. The warm grays and cinnamon-rust tones of the sandhill's body emerged through layered wet-on-wet washes, each pass of natural mineral pigment building on the last. The red crown — small but electric — anchors the composition and draws the eye upward, following the line of the bird's body into the gesture of the dance. Alla prima means every mark stays. The spontaneity in the brushwork matches the spontaneity of the dance itself.

My MFA from the New York Academy of Art and decades of classical training in anatomy and life drawing are what let me paint a bird in motion freehand and have it feel real. The twist of the body, the weight distribution, the way the wings catch air — these aren't guesses. They're informed by thousands of hours of studying how living things move. Sandhill cranes mate for life and can live over twenty years. Their dances are among the oldest courtship rituals on the planet — fossil evidence suggests cranes have been performing these displays for millions of years. Painting that ancient joy in a single alla prima session felt like bridging time itself.

One of a kind from my Oh, to Fly! collection. Among my sandhill crane paintings, "Rejoice" is the most joyful — a painting that lifts the energy of any room it enters. This painting brings kinetic energy and warmth to living rooms, studies, and collector walls. Optium Museum Plexi framing available. Free shipping and complimentary insurance. Certificate of authenticity included.

Materials:  Each watercolor original is unique, the only one of its kind. Created on 300lb Arches Watercolor Paper with Japanese Sumi-é watercolor paint designed to last a lifetime.

Framing: Each piece is elegantly presented with light grey matting in a handmade wooden frame with a grey-washed finish. UV plexiglass and archival materials ensure long-lasting preservation. Crafted with care, our frames are 1.5" deep and handcrafted from solid wood by our trusted local framer.

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