Today I’m sharing photos of sculptures by artist Bue Kee at the Portland Art Museum in Oregon. When I saw 3 Birds from across the room, I assumed they were carved from wood but they’re actually sculpted from clay.

The 3 Birds were created between 1939 and 1940. The sculptures include an owl, goose, and pelican. I especially liked the pelican sculpture.

These sculptures were created during the Great Depression under one of the New Deal art programs. Almost 14,000 artists were hired by the federal government in 1933-34 under the Public Works of Art Program. Between 1933 and 1943, five programs provided much-needed employment for participants and left a lasting legacy of public artworks across the country.

The Lens-Artists Photo Challenge this week is to show photographs with three subjects. I searched through my archives to find pictures I’d taken of the birds in the 3 Birds sculpture. All these photos were taken in Oregon.

The first picture shows a pair of Canada Geese keeping a watchful eye over their single gosling. I took this picture while out walking my dog along the Deschutes River in Bend.

The second picture shows a trio of Long-eared Owl owlets. These young birds were well-hidden in a thicket of willow at Summer Lake Wildlife Area.

The last photo shows three White Pelicans south of Burns. It almost looks like they are in a confrontation with the Double-Crested Cormorants, but they feed together regularly.

In this photo, I captured three additional species. You can spot an American Coot, Canvasback, and Ruddy Duck in the foreground.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – The rule of three

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