Picking up a Snack
$100.00
Hand Pulled Serigraph ~ 16 Stencils
2024 ~ 3 x 4 ” ~ 10 x 15 cm
Edition 60, artist proofs 6
The Puffin is one of the many sea birds who swim and fish in the North Atlantic Ocean and nest close to its shore.
The puffin is awkward on land and vulnerable to predation. Because of this, these seabirds live on isolated islands, or burrow into cliffs on the mainland, which are inaccessible to predators. Puffins spend most of their lives on the water, and can even sleep there.
Plain black and white for most of the year, the Puffins develop brilliantly colored beaks and feet in the summer as they prepare to mate and raise their young. These sea birds usually mate for life and raise a single chick with a voracious appetite each summer.
A member of the auk family, puffins are related to the extinct Great auk. These ‘Penguins of the North,’ like their southern counterpart, have their feet far back on their body, which is why they have trouble walking on land. They also do not fly well, needing to beat their wings 300 – 400 times a minute just to stay in the air. Landing on the water often involves a big splash. Landing on solid ground can involve summersaulting or rolling and tumbling, and nearby puffins are often bowled over.
In the ocean however, these sea birds are graceful and expert swimmers. They use their wings to fly through the water, and their webbed feet to turn quickly in pursuit of the small fish that make up their diet.