Large Paintings

I Have Leapt Like Fire draws on the cyclical nature of time. Two hummingbirds orbit one another in a suspended moment echoing the cyclical rhythms of the Sonoran Desert. Behind them, three interlocking gold circles suggest celestial movement: sun, eclipse, and afterimage, symbolizing past, present, and future.

The inscription, from a poem by Robert Lax, reads: By day I have circled the sun / I have leapt like fire describes life as a circus performer’s acrobatics. The hummingbirds' flight becomes a measure of time in a living being’s life as something that is radiant and fleeting. It is a symbol of what it requires to be a living thing in a beautiful yet hostile world.

Title: I Have Leapt Like Fire

Date: April 2026

Media: oil and acrylic on birch panel

Dimensions: 48" x 24"

Price: $2000

Artist: Kelly M. Houle

Tohono Chul Gallery, Tucson, AZ

May 14-Aug 2, 2026

Inquiries:exhibits@tohonochul.org

Artwork of two birds flying toward each other within overlapping circles, with a dark background and a gold-colored quote at the bottom that reads 'By dawn we're curled like the sun, leap like fire.'

Painting of a hummingbird with iridescent wings hovering in front of a glowing solar eclipse.

A mural with a quote written in gold script on a dark, abstract background with streaks of yellow and green. The quote says, 'By day I have circled like the sun I have leapt like fire'.

A colorful bird with extended wings and long tail feathers, shown from above, floating on dark water.

A painting of two hummingbirds flying towards each other, set against a dark, circular background with light rays and geometric circles.