Birds in the Bush

Happy New Year! Well it is February but I'm not so late if you go by the Chinese New Year.

Well I have decided to have a bit of a studio clear-out and make a determined effort to find new homes for some of my painted manu. That means a Sale! Not just any sale but a 'Birds in the Bush' sale.

Check out ellaQuaint on facebook for further details as to the manu that will be available for you to take home :)

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

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.

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

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

Ehoa Piwakawaka

Ehoa Piwakawaka 2011

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

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

another in the hand . . .



Toutouwai Pango Toitiiti 2011

Toutouwai Pango Toitiiti
2011
150mm x 150mm x 35mm
Archival acrylic and water colour on canvas

detail

Another iti treasure in the hand. This little toutoutwai, or black robin was carefully layered up using blues and brown, upon a mid grey base. No black was actually used in the painting of this manu so the depth of the colour is the result of many layers of washes, in a manner akin to oil paint glazes. I have heightened the contrast in colour in her feathers for dramatic effect.

I keep thinking of this character as Little Blue seeing as it is highly likely that she is a descendant of Old Blue.





You will be able to view her in more detail on Toggle where she is available for purchase
http://www.toggle.co.nz/ella-thomas.html

The inspiration behind this series of work can be read here . . .
http://ellaquaint.blogspot.com/2011/02/bird-in-hand-is-kind-of-cranky.html