Hesitation and the Silver Key

You carry a little key, once a bright silver that shown in the sun, but see, it grows rusty with misuse! You carry it close, and as such it burdens you with its weight, and it will do you little good unless you find the proper door!

Well, see here, I promised those of you watching me for my more realistic work some birds, and here's one!

So a little about the piece itself. It's sort of a self portrait. The bird depicted is, of course, the Northern Mockingbird: A bird for a multitude of reasons that I feel has a connection to my personality, etc. , so it is here representing me, in a sense. I'm not sure of the exact symbolism a mockingbird has in a broader, more worldly sense, but for me I consider the nature of the bird's song ability: it mimics the calls of other birds, and anything else it may hear, and reinterprets in its own voice. They are not remarkable to look upon, and it is not all that often you will see one out in the open. I've encountered a few singing that have taken flight into the trees the minute they realized they were being watched. Aside from that, in a lighter, more humorous sense, I've been likened to a variety of birds by friends. So it's kind of stuck.

The key the bird is holding in her beak has its own symbolism, which will no doubt be interpreted differently by each individual. My meaning behind this key is a metaphor for an ability or a thing held very dear to me. (Which would be art.) The key was once a bright polished silver, but it is growing rusty. Why? Sure, I do plenty of art. But I'm not using the art to further myself... aside from uploading, I'm not trying nearly hard enough to advance in the professional sense. So you see my dilemma, yes? I can only find reassurance in the fact that it will likely take me a few years.

The 2-D look of the branch has a bit of meaning in itself... we wonder if the bird can actually perch herself on something seeming so fragile!

The painting in technical terms: Yet another gouache painting, this done with some newer and better gouaches on a mysterious sort of fiberboard given to me by a co-worker. I have a ton of these boards now to do fun little practices on. That wing was a real pain, let me tell you. I had to re-paint it a good half a dozen times, making it larger each time. And it's still not perfect! (Note: Mockingbirds' eyes are normally yellow, but I figured I could take artistic license here, as it is a self portrait... )

Yikes, I haven't done anything symbolic for quite a long while, so bear with me and that disastrously long explanation. I further wonder if I should use this as my new ID. Any thoughts? My current deviantID is old and slightly ill fitting. (I finished it really early one sleepless morning and there are glaring errors that I find hard to look at.)

Comments, critiques, etc. are welcome as always.
Art (C) April Schumacher (pallanoph)