Wither

“Wither” was created for my 2025 solo exhibition. This oil painting measures 16” x 20” on a gallery wrapped canvas.

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“Wither” carries a powerful meditation on the fragility of life and the inevitable cycle of decay in the natural world.

The delicate wildflowers—daisies, coneflowers, and grasses—stand upright, alive and reaching toward the sky, while the bird lies motionless below them, its once-bright plumage muted by stillness. The juxtaposition between the flourishing flowers and the fallen bird highlights nature’s duality: the coexistence of beauty and loss, vitality and mortality.

The bird, nestled among the blooms, seems almost to return to the earth—its vibrant body now part of the same soil that nourishes the flowers above. In this way, the painting suggests that withering is not merely an ending, but also a return, a quiet merging back into the greater cycle of life.

The light sky overhead creates a gentle contrast, underscoring that death does not eclipse beauty but exists alongside it. “Wither” becomes not only a reflection on endings but also a reminder that from what fades, new life is sustained.