Eileen Kennedy     Paintings

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Whale Song
Egg tempera on gesso panel, 18 x 24"
$4,000 (prints for $125 and $250)

During the summer of the 2020 pandemic, I became enchanted by reports of humpback whale sightings in near-shore waters of New Jersey, where I live. It was as if God sent whales to amuse us during our isolation. What could be more inspiring?

Soon, I was on a whale watching boat, saw my first whales and took photos. A friend who is a wildlife photographer provdied additional reference shots and I began composing on my drawing board. But what context would let me put whales and people in the same image in a way that was meaningful to me? A scene from my whale watching trip? No, too prosaic--I sought a more poetic scenario. Suddenly, the fiddle I was trying to learn during lockdown caught my eye and Whale Song was revealed.