PLEASE CLICK FOR FULL VIEW.

© Coral McBride --- Do not alter or use without my permission.

This artwork was inspired by a very old song my mother used to sing with her very beautiful voice, which unfortunately I did not inherit.

A detail from this artwork is posted here [link]

Bird in a Gilded Cage
(Arthur J. Lamb and Harry Von Tilzer)

The ballroom was filled with fashion's throng,
It shone with a thousand lights;
And there was a woman who passed along,
The fairest of all the sights.
A girl to her lover then softly sighed,
"There's riches at her command."
"But she married for wealth, not for love," he cried!
"Though she lives in a mansion grand."

cho: "She's only a bird in a gilded cage,
A beautiful sight to see.
You may think she's happy and free from care,
She's not, though she seems to be.
'Tis sad when you think of her wasted life
For youth cannot mate with age;
And her beauty was sold for an old man's gold,
She's a bird in a gilded cage."

I stood in a churchyard just at eve,
When sunset adorned the west;
And looked at the people who'd come to grieve
For loved ones now laid at rest.
A tall marble monument marked the grave
Of one who'd been fashion's queen;
And I thought, "She is happier here at rest,
Than to have people say when seen: "

cho: "She's only a bird in a gilded cage,
A beautiful sight to see.
You may think she's happy and free from care,
She's not, though she seems to be.
'Tis sad when you think of her wasted life
For youth cannot mate with age;
And her beauty was sold for an old man's gold,
She's a bird in a gilded cage."

Created in Photoshop, also a lot of painting using a Wacom tablet. This artwork contains symbolism (can't help myself ) The golden tones used in the background represents the gilded cage, the dress of peacock feathers, not only the bird but also pride. The mask is what she hides her feelings behind and is the facade she presents to the world.

Thank you to the talented stock artists below:

Model:
[link]

Background:
[link]

Mask:
[link]

Peacock:
[link]

[link]

Photoshop brushes;
[link]

Textures:
[link]

[link]

[link]

Thank you to for featuring 'Bird in a Gilded Cage' in her journal [link]

Thank you also to for the News Journal feature in 'Digital Friday Favorites' [link]

Thank you to for the feature in her journal [link]

I GIVE PERMISSION TO THE CLUBS I AM A MEMBER OF, TO DISPLAY MY ARTWORK.