Seed Sowers is a 24" x 48" mixed media diptych (two 24" x 24" paintings). 
 
The Hawaiian crow 'Alala is critically endangered and would have become extinct except for the efforts of a breeding program on the Big Island. I was invited to visit the facility as an artist to create work around this amazing bird. 
 
In Seed Sowers I show the entire life cycle of the 'Alala from its speckled blue eggs to blue-eyed chicks and adolescent birds, to the black-eyed fuzzy adults.They are one of 3 crow species that use tools, so I painted a stick that it uses to find insects.  I included several endemic plant species that are the 'Alala's favorites including hoawa, olapa, and ohelo berry. 
 
The background of circles and squares represent the actual ancestors of the breeding program genealogy. Currently they have successfully introduced a number of birds back into the wild. You can follow their story on Facebook in "The Alala Project." 
 
The title comes from the vital purpose they served when they were abundant on the Hawaiian islands as they distributed seeds of endemic plants.
 
This painting is a diptych, two 24" x 24" panels meant to be hung next to each other for a total size of 24" high and 48" across (with about 1/2" space separating them.) The individual pieces may be hung on their own and were composed to be balanced individually as well as together. This painting is cradled and ready to hang.