Festive Manu

Here is a sneak preview of some of the gorgeous, new manu that I have painted for the Auckland Art and Craft Fair that is happening this Saturday.

Toutouwai in progress

Tauhou in progress

Christmas Tui

Kotare in blue

Christmas Riroriro

If hitting the malls to do your Christmas shopping seems a bit hideous, come along and see all of the fabulous wares . . .  Auckland Art and Craft Fair blog.

On his Perch

my favourite tui yet!

So I was very well behaved and I did complete him in a sensible fashion. I so love the simplicity of oriental aesthetics and the whole philosophy around what is 'not there' being as important as what is, leaving out the perch was definitely pushing that sentiment a bit too far.

Ehoa Tui 2011

It is so nice getting used to my little camera again. I had lent it to my mum so she could take it overseas with her and I borrowed her camera instead. Although her camera is so much flasher, I love my little lumix.

detail of the layered up reds and greens of the pohutukawa

detail of the tui

Enjoy . . . there will be additional images within his listing should you wish to be nosy Ehoa Tui on Toggle

Ehoa Tui

Not the best photo . . .

Well this is the first painting that I have done of a tui for a wee while and I love him to bits! The problem is he doesn't seem to want to perch on anything. He was meant to be like a companion piece to the work that I painted for my mum a few months ago so I kind of feel that he should be grounded by something.

The colours are richer in life.

Maybe an idea for later, painting birds sans environment?? Ehoa Tui translates to being 'Tui Friend'.

Finally!!!

Piwakawaka Koanga 2011

Well I don't know about you, but I am one of those people who loose some of their mojo in winter. Something about the short days, frosty mornings and random snow falls which channels my inner bear and makes me want to just sleep and eat. A little bit of sunshine can make all of the difference and this piwakawaka (fantail) heralds a creative spurt (I hope).

There are many subtle layers of umbers, siennas, blues, creams, ochres that have been layered up to create the texture of his plumage. I probably spent a bit too much time on him and this photo really doesn't do him justice, it is slightly overexposed and has flushed out the colour. I am not going to complain about too much light though! The name 'Piwakawaka Koanga' refers to 'Spring Piwakawaka'. I like the idea that that play with words can also talk about the action of how the wee manu bounces around the place. He should be listed for sale soon.

Tiotio Ruru



Tiotio Ruru 2011

I adore ruru; there is something quite magical about their ability to swoop past on silent feathers. Years ago I was at a family friend's house and after dinner we sat in the dark watching out ruru out the window pounce on moths that were attracted to the porch light. It really was like a silent ballet.

No camping trip or bush stay is quite complete without being lulled to sleep with the 'morepork' call of the ruru. It so reminds me of my childhood.

Tiotio refers to the 'call' of the ruru, again I have used the pattern from a vintage copperplate to symbolise the sound that he makes.

Korimako Waiwai

close up of Korimako Waiwai

I finally got the korimako watercolour finished and able to print him off to join wee piwakawaka. Unfortunately I overworked the kotare painting so I am going to redo it again at sometime as it was looking so cute. Enjoy :)

I haven't used watercolours in this way for a while so it has been fun getting used to them again. Korimako has turned out really well in my view, he has that cheeky twinkle that I associate with bellbirds and aim to capture when painting them.

Should you be interested in checking him out, limited edition prints of him are available for sale on Felt Korimako Waiwai listing on Felt

The Grey Ghost

image from the forest and bird blog

This evening there was an article on the Sunday programme about the South Island Kokako. Bird enthusiasts have labelled it the Grey Ghost due to it's ability to blend into the mist and to avoid being seen. It was declared officially extinct in 2007, much to the sadness of many of us who share a passion for our indigenous species. You can view the article in the Forest and Bird blog here, Bird Stalkers article

However there is still hope, a group of ornathologists who go by the name  SIKIT, (South Island Kokako Investigation Team) are appealing to people who have had encounters with the birds. A recorded South Is kokako call that was documented over a year ago has inspired further attempts to prove that the red wattled kokako is still in existance. You can check out there official site here, The Grey Ghost Let's hope that they can find further evidence soon so that the species can get the support it needs to continue.

Forest and Bird

tātāeko / whitehead

Here is an interesting article talking about the variety of bird life that existed in Auckland prior to it becoming an urban sprawl. Yay for programmes like the Ark in the Park for coming up with ways to try and bring back some diversity of bird life back into the Auckland region Forest and Bird article

Manukura

'Manukura' means of chiefly status

He is just gorgeous! Follow the link to the full article Herald article on Manukura

Manu Waiwai

Kotare in progress

This idea has been in my head for quite sometime and I have finally had the chance to sit down and experiment with it. Watercolour manu! I like the idea of prodcing a range of images which are more affordable and easily produced once the initial painting has been perfected.

I think he will look gorgeous when he is finished

After experimenting with my printer I have managed to get it to accept 300 gms paper and the final results are fabulous. The inks are of top quality and are said to have very good archival propertities.

Piwakawaka Waiwai 2011

Here is one that is completed, in it's printed form. Waiwai refers to the watery media that was used to create the image. The subtleties of the watercolour process are still visible, which to me was very important. They are all signed and in an edition of 50.

detail

At this stage I am considering printing half of the edition on canvas, but at this stage I will just stick with the paper. Piwakawaka Waiwai is available for purchase on Felt

Tui Mahira

This is the latest bird to add to the whanau, Tui Mahira; meaning nosey tui. I loved the photo that I based this guy off and I am stoked with how I captured his inquisitiveness within the painting. Here I also experimented with working in a wider variety of blue hues within his wing feathers. The original image had been pushed through photoshop I think. Enjoy. Link to Tui Mahira

St Heliers Bay Market on Sunday

Hey there, come and join us at St Heliers Bay Easter Eggstravaganza Market. It is this Sunday 17th, 10 - 3 pm Tamaki Ex-Services Association Hall, Cnr Turua St & Polygon Rd, St Heliers. I have never had a stall at a market before but it should be great fun. It is all very last minute, a last minute invitation but hey you gotta give it a go eh? Look for the ellaQuaint store :) St Heliers Bay Easter Eggstravaganza Market

ooo, chilly

Treehugger is one of my favourite ecoblogs. Here is a wild article which I thought I would share with you. Of all the birds who need their feathers . . .treehugger article

Don Merton Dies

Don Merton holding Richard Henry, a Fiordland kakapo

It is so sad, the beloved koro of both the toutouwai (black robin) and kakapo has died at the age of 72 after a battle with cancer. He was the person responsible for bringing back both species of manu (birds) back from the brink of extinction, without his intervention we would have lost both feathered treasures.

Link to the Article from the New Zealand Herald

Kotare Iti

Kotare Iti

Finally I got this manu finished. He has been hanging around for a little while, very patiently I might add. It is all good as I am thrilled with how beautifully he has turned out.

 A detailed view of Kotare

The flourish which is used to show his call is again taken from an old Victorian copperplate.

This gorgeous work is available for sale on Toggle

Toggle Website

Red Cross Fundraiser

Yay! I am sooo stoked, 'Arohanui' has found itself a new home and has raised over $500 for the Red Cross Christchurch Earthquake Fund. Thanks so much to all of you who bid and special thanks to the winner of the auction. I am going to miss my favourite tui hanging around my flat but it is for such a good cause.

Ehoa Piwakawaka

Ehoa Piwakawaka 2011

This little toanga is for Sue who had a birthday this week. I hope she likes him xx

Underpainting

Here are some images of the underlayers of paint work on Arohanui. The gold layer underneath helps add to the lustre of the tui's feathers.

Varoius blues have been layered up in subtle transparent layers also, to add richness and depth

Here is the link to the auction that closes on Thursday  Arohanui Auction on Trademe

Christchurch Charity Auction ' Arohanui'

Fingers crossed :) 
'Arohanui' by Ella Thomas.trademe.co.nz

Arohanui Christchurch

 

Well it has been a hectic couple of weeks. The awful events in Christchurch have frequently been in my thoughts, especially as my Dad's family come from Canterbury. The Friday after the quake I actually was down there for a family event and it was a different city from when I last visited, just before Christmas.



Arohanui 2011


We were staying in a motel just outside of the central city, on the edge of Hagley Park. Thankfully they still had water and power. It was how I imagined a war zone to be, helicopters frequently cut across overhead; ambulances wailing at least one an hour. The people we came across were in a stunned state, some tramautised. Members of my family who have been deeply affected but are thankfully intact. Like many their house and land is probably to be condemned, but I suppose events like this are part of life's journey. I wanted to do a little something in response to this tragedy. It took me much longer than I thought as I had yet to paint a manu this large.  Here it is . . .

Arohanui 2011
560mm x 710mm x 36mm
Archival Acrylics and gesso on canvas






cover image and article
by Jason Hoskings


You couldn't hear any birdlife around the city, apart from the ducks in the park. Like they say, 'water off a duck's back'. This saying has always appealed and I think there may be some influence evident within the painting. Tui I think of being particularly resilient also, they have thrived where other species have floundered. The photo that inspired the pose I used was from New Zealand Geographic  abridged tui article

This photo is just stunning, I did adapt the pose to suit my needs as I wanted to render the face of the tui. Within the painting are other references to painters, old and new as well as influences by one of my favourite illustrators. I suppose I like the idea of the tui being like an endemic phoenix. Shortly I will be able to provide a link to the auction, of which I am going to donate the proceeds to the Red Cross. I you like it, link-love would be great . . . even better, bid on it :)






detailed layering



fluttering feathers



 

 



here you can see some of the sheen of the
gold underpainting coming through

  

kereru



Kereru Waiata 2011



I haven't painted a kereru for such a long time. To me they are kind of scary because the images I choose to work from generally show off their feathers in their best light. The better the light, the more the colours that appear in them.

This kereru turned out so well. Because initially I wanted to include it in the waiata series, I had that in mind. Then I realized that I have never, that I know of actually heard the call or song of one. There wasn't anything; recordings or descriptions to be found online either. In the end I decided that his waiata would be a quiet, subtle one and painted it white.

See the other blog ellaQuaint for another beautiful kereru work that I came across online, recently ellaQuaint


Again you can see more details of this taonga on Toggle, where he is available for purchase toggle