For birders, a “spark bird” is the one that inspires someone’s interest in birding or connecting more strongly to nature. This image is extracted from a larger piece I created as a surprise birthday gift for a lifelong birder. His goal was to see 700 species in the contiguous U.S. before he turned 60, and he did it! His family forwarded me a list of the 20-some species they knew he’d appreciate me featuring in a painting. He saw his snowy owl perched on a tire while in college. My original material was acrylic on paper. The pages I collaged in the background are vintage dictionary pages containing bird entries and illustrations. Arrives signed on Epson acid free paper and printed in archival ink.