Thomas Swanston

In my current body of paintings, the overarching theme of migration carries a multitude of connotations; most notably, migration speaks to the mystical movement through space and time, from one location to another and the ultimate return home. The recurring patterns of sandhill crane migrations remind us of nature’s ability to renew and revive itself, rhythmically changing, yet remaining stable and consistent through the seasons. Such is also the human life, changing with each year and each generation. Like migratory birds, physical and spiritual travelers alike explore new or familiar places, always to return to the one special locale that they call “home.” In their seasonal trips from North to South and then back, and in their victorious return from near extinction back into the cycle of life, sandhill cranes remind the viewer that all journeys have a purpose and an end, no matter how long they might be or how far away from home they may take us.