Etching 14 / Song of Renewal. This dense and dynamic etching is about the strongest and most meaningful of all the life forces, the drive for renewal. Boyd, as an artist, has a rare and persuasive quality. He is able to invest his landscapes with a unique mythic power. This compelling aspect of his visual language means he is able to evoke a concept such as renewal with the sheer vigour of his symbolic imagery. However, in spite of his use of myth and magic, there is always the strong resonance of a level of truth in all of David Boyd’s images. All is vibrant and active as the Angel draws life and the rebirth of flowers, butterflies and insects from the earth. The wombat joyously speeds after her to bring his own magnetic force to her service in this time of change. She is watched and encouraged by the white cockatoo, who, filling the sky with his feathered presence, takes on, in David Boyd’s cast of symbolic characters, the role of a benign presiding spirit. In this etching there is an almost reckless energy as David, with fearless cutting strokes summons up the undeniable urgency of a creation bursting with new and abundant life. His powerful symbolic trio create lines of action and the cogent etching marks and strokes become a new kind of musical notation that sing the song of natures renewal.