Reimagining the Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Gaby D'alessandro channels her love of Dominican home into her art.

See all of听John James 约炮视频鈥檚 Birds of America.When 28-year-old Gaby D鈥檃lessandro moved from the Dominican Republic to New York City in 2008, she quickly became homesick for the mountains and beaches back in the D.R., so she began channeling that longing into her art.

鈥淚鈥檓 very interested in human emotions; it鈥檚 a big part of what drives my work,鈥 she says. 鈥淎nd when I鈥檓 trying to find the right symbols to evoke a feeling, they鈥檙e often nature-related.鈥 Chance encounters with are at once exciting and fleeting, which appealed to D鈥橝lessandro when she created this illustration, working on a digital tablet with Photoshop as an alternative to canvas and acrylic paint.

Hummingbirds are 鈥渙therworldly,鈥 she says, 鈥渟uch unusual and incredibly small birds, with exotic coloration and unique flying abilities.鈥 D鈥橝lessandro marvels at how the tiny migrants can fly nonstop for 20 hours and 500 miles across the Gulf of Mexico each spring and fall. Many other remarkable avian feats will be on her mind as she prepares for an upcoming multi-artist exhibition titled P谩jaro, Spanish for 鈥渂ird,鈥 scheduled to open in late April in Santo Domingo.听

See all of听John James 约炮视频鈥檚 Birds of America.