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"Duck Family"
"Duck Family"
Soft pastel
2025

"Tranquil Beginnings" originally painted on 8x10 black paper. A proud mallard drake floats at the forefront of his small family, his emerald-green head held high as he surveys their path through the still water. Beside him, the soft brown hen grooms her plumage occasionally glancing toward their golden duckling bobbing like a tiny sunbeam. The water mirrors their forms in delicate smudges of color, amplifying their quiet procession across the composition.

Rendered against an abyss of velvety black, the ducks appear illuminated as if by spotlight. The drake’s iridescent feathers shimmer with teal and indigo, his reflection creating vivid colors on the water’s surface. Every pastel mark emphasizes contrasts between the duckling’s fluffy down against the parents’ sleek plumage, the water’s glassy calm against the infinite darkness.


~ Scherell Art