Like many of the kids he meets, painter Cbabi Bayoc never learned about black artists growing up. Musicians, comics, actors? Sure. But visual artists? No way.

Part of it is the economics," Bayoc said. "We always want our kids to make a living, not be a 'starving artist' on the street. I understand that. I wanted to be a truck driver.

Instead, Bayoc has made a name for himself painting about his two favorite subjects: African-American music and family life. And this month, Aisle 1 Gallery is hosting a solo show that explores another one of Bayoc's passions: birds. Some of the paintings feature birds nesting in branches that spell out uplifting messages. Those are Bayoc's "Birds & Words." Other works boast birds with human characteristics.

"To me, they look like little kids," Bayoc said. "For some reason, I just enjoy painting them."

Birds are all the rage today. So much so that hipster sketch comedy show "Portlandia" mocked the trend in its debut episode ("In Portland, you can put a bird on something and just call it art") and has created the website putabirdonit.com that superimposes a bird on any Web page. Bayoc admits he's stumped by their appeal.