Why I Keep Painting Pigeons

There is a pigeon on the bed in one of my paintings. There is a pigeon in a top hat holding a slice of pizza. There are two pigeons on a date in Central Park, sharing a pizza, next to a lit candle, with an entire skyline behind them.

People ask why pigeons. The honest answer is that I did not decide it, it just kept happening.

The most ignored bird in the city

Pigeons are everywhere and nobody looks at them. They get called rats with wings. They eat what we drop, they live in the gaps in our architecture, and they have adapted to a world that was not built for them and does not want them there.

That is already the whole Candy Decay idea in one animal: something bright and slightly ruined, surviving on the sweet things other people threw away.

They have very good posture

Look at a pigeon properly and it is a genuinely absurd creature. Iridescent neck, tiny head, chest out like it is about to give a speech. They walk with the confidence of something far more important than a pigeon.

That gap between how they carry themselves and how they are treated is funny, and it is the same gap I keep painting in other forms: a skeleton at a birthday party, a fish on a dessert, a cat with a certificate for avoiding its feelings.

The three pigeon paintings

Weird Pigeon is the original one. A pigeon in a top hat, clutching a slice of pizza like treasure, entirely unbothered. It has become the piece people recognise first, and it exists as everything from a free phone wallpaper to a t-shirt.

Indulgence and Decay puts a pigeon among champagne, strawberries and a skull. It looks like luxury until you notice what is lying next to it. Appetite and the fact that nothing lasts, in one square.

Cheesy Romance is two pigeons on a date under a Central Park bridge, with pizza, donuts and a candle. It is played completely straight, which is what makes it work. Nobody in that painting thinks it is a joke.

Why a recurring character helps

When a motif comes back, the viewer recognises the world before they understand the new scene. The second time a pigeon appears, it already has a history. That is a compositional tool as much as a personal preference, and I wrote about how it works in my post on composition.

Practically it also means I do not have to invent an entire universe from scratch for every painting. The pigeons are already there. They just show up in a new room.

Where to find them

All of it lives in one place now: the pigeon art collection. Hand-signed 21 x 21 cm prints at 35 euro, posters from 22 euro, printable downloads at 9,90 euro, t-shirts, and a free phone wallpaper if you just want a pigeon on your lock screen.

If you are buying for someone who sends you pigeon photos at 2am, there is a whole gift guide for that person.