The Art in “The Bird that Sang in Color”

This is the final drawing in my series exploring the artwork that inspired The Bird That Sang in Color. The words woven into this piece are lyrics from a song by Robin Williamson of The Incredible String Band—music that plays a meaningful role

The Bird That Sang in Color is filled with music. Set against the emotional backdrop of family, memory, and coming of age, the novel uses iconic albums of the late 1960s and early 1970s to deepen character, establish time and place, and reveal

Throughout The Bird That Sang in Color, Donna encourages her brother Vincent to live according to society’s conventions. She assumes that because he is single, childless, and works mostly menial jobs, he cannot possibly be happy. What she fails

When Donna first sees this picture, she wonders whether it represents how her brother Vincent envisioned his future self—an aging, philosopher-like figure—or whether it reveals the philosopher who had always lived inside him. The version of

In Chapter Four of The Bird That Sang in Color, Vincent tells Donna and Frank that the harp is the only instrument he has yet to learn. He repeats this quiet aspiration again in Chapter Eight, reinforcing the sense that the harp represents

The image above comes from the actual sketchbook that inspired me to write The Bird That Sang in Color. In fact, all of the drawings featured in this recent blog series originate from this same sketchbook, which served as a visual and emotional

Although Vincent plays a variety of instruments, his favorite is the guitar. When Donna sees this picture, she is flooded with memories of all the times he played for her, always accompanied by his favorite phrase: “I’ve been practicing.” Music

The drawing of Vincent during his brief time in a seminary captures him looking outward, as if he would rather be anywhere else. True to all of his sketches, Donna is struck by how much feeling and emotion he conveys with just a few strokes of a

The theme of music pervades The Bird That Sang in Color. The story begins and ends with music, and throughout the novel, a variety of instruments and albums set the tone for key moments. But the musicality in this book goes beyond literal

Vincent’s sketchbook serves as a kind of pictorial autobiography, each drawing capturing the simple yet rich life he led. Throughout much of his life, Donna encouraged him to pursue a more conventional career, believing that external success was