This is part of the Jamaican restaurant series. Barb has a friend, Becky, who owns the local Jamaican restaurant . He moved to a new location, in town. When she saw that his new walls were bare, she decided to decorate! Barb is usually a serious painter. With this series, she decided to take a much lighter hearted approach and to paint with abandon. This abandon really shows in this painting in the amazing, sizzling orange background. Like so much of Barb’s art, the web just does not show it in it’s full splendour. This really is a dramatic flare of colour and exuberance.

The things you learn when you paint! The Doctor Bird (Trochilus polytmus) or Swallowtail Humming Bird is the national bird of Jamaica. It only lives in Jamaica. The male has these loooooong iridescent tail feathers that are unique among the Humming Bird population. The Doctor Bird has been immortalized for many decades in Jamaican folklore and song.

When Barb set out to paint things for the restaurant, it did not take her long to find the Doctor Bird. She did know that it was a national symbol, that was was a bonus. She just painted it because it is so beautiful. Probably the same reason it is the National Bird.