OSPREY (2022) Painting by Dmitrii Kastalskii

Watercolor painting by Moscow artist Dmitrii Kastalskii, member of SABA, “Osprey”.
"Birds of Prey" series.
Animal painting, figurative art.
Size 36x48 cm, when decorated with a passe-partout - 40x50 cm.
2022

Watercolor work was done on 100% cotton Canson Fontenay paper with a density of 300 g/m².
The painting is suitable both for interior decoration and as a gift.

EXHIBITIONS

In 2022 and 2023, the painting participated in exhibitions of the project “Plants and Animals of Epics of the World and Russia”:

— Petrozavodsk, Russia, Main Exhibition Hall;

— Moscow, Russia, Apothecary Garden, “Epics. Flora and fauna";

— Irkutsk, Russia, State Scientific Library named after. I. I. Molchanov-Sibirsky with the support of the Botanical Garden of Irkutsk State University;

— Yakutsk, Russia, SMART library named after. N.D. Neustroeva. The exhibition was held as part of the Knowledge Festival “Winter Garden 2.0” with the support of the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives.

Osprey also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a fishing bird that hunts by swooping down on fish swimming near the surface, putting its paws forward with impressive claws. It can grab a couple of large fish at once, piercing them with its hooks.
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In most photographs, this bird has some kind of crazy, hysterical look, but naturalists say that the osprey is a very calm, flexible and good-natured neighbor for other birds. It does not attack itself and does not allow other predators to attack.
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This watercolor work was exhibited at the exhibitions of the project “Epics of the Peoples of the World and Russia” in Moscow, Petrozavodsk, Yakutsk, and Irkutsk.
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— From Russian epics it is mentioned among the Khanty and Mansi peoples:
The heavenly god Torum had a son named Syuhes, which means “osprey.” Torum sent his son to earth to do good and ordered him to dress well. The son did not listen, he said that he would not freeze. Then Torum sent frost, the son fell, and Torum turned him into a bird that flies high, but cannot rise to the sky.

That's right, you have to listen to your parents. Especially if they are gods. They told me to dress warmly - don’t be capricious, get dressed, dad won’t give you bad advice.
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— Among the peoples of Melanesia (islands in the Pacific Ocean), the osprey is mentioned in myths about a woman and her bird son. The woman, left alone as a result of various adventures, catches an osprey chick or hatches its egg, or even gives birth to such an egg herself. As a result, she has an osprey son who catches fish and feeds it. Then he brings her fire (or a drill for making fire), taro, yams, an ax, clothes, dishes - he arranges her life in every possible way. At the end, mother and son return to her home village or found a new settlement whose inhabitants emerge from osprey feathers. ⠀

In general, the epic tells us that an osprey can enrich your life with positive events, bring a lot of benefit and take care of you.
If necessary, it ensures survival in the wild and other difficult life situations. But only for those with whom you have a good relationship.

Moreover, according to updated data, it is not even necessary to hatch her egg for this.
Just being the owner of such a beautiful portrait is enough))
May the spirit of the osprey be with you and help you in difficult times!
The Melanisians knew a lot about this and wouldn’t just talk like that, I’m telling you that.

Related themes

NatureBirdHawkWatercolorPainting