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

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

A Bird in the Hand . . .



Korimako Toitiiti

 I was curious as to whether or not I could create some smaller paintings. Combine that with seeing some very cute but disgruntled birds being held in peoples' hands, the idea of 'A Bird in the Hand' was born. To be honest I figure that most hand held birds are either frightened or hacked off. I have some cute images of said birds on ellaQuaint.blogspot.com

This little taonga is happily perching on a branch. The small scale of the format is approximately hand-sized so there is a nice play with meaning also.





Tui Toitiiti

This wee tui is part of the series, these iti treasures are the start of the 'A Bird in the Hand' series. The other concern behind them was to produce a range that was cheaper than my other works. My only worry was that I would be unable to paint birds, especially larger ones like tui that small.

Well now I feel that that fear was unfounded as I am stoked with how this manu turned out. There is still enough room to layer up fine details within the feathers. I am looking forward to seeing how other species turn out.

These little gems are available on toggle :)
http://www.toggle.co.nz/ella-thomas.html

Another post based on the same idea can be seen here
http://ellaquaint.blogspot.com/2011/02/bird-in-hand-is-kind-of-cranky.html

tui waiata tira





Tui Waiata Tira 2011

  Here is the latest addition to my Waiata series. She was enjoyable to paint and many rich colours layered up within her feathers. The image that I used for inspiration when painting her was high contrasting tonally, this gave her a pronounced controur on the brow.  Because of this I nick-named her Frida.

Waiata tira is a choral song; a song sung as a choir without actions. I imagined her listening to the dawn chorus, waking up and contemplating joining in. On my other blog; ellaQuaint, you can see the process as to how I layered up her feathers.

She is available for purchase from toggle; enjoy

http://www.toggle.co.nz/ella-thomas.html 

Riroriro

Riroriro / grey warblers are still among my favourite birds. I think that it is their resiliance that appeals to me. An earlier posting goes into detail about how special these birds are.



'Riroriro Iti' 2011

 The riroriro despite their other name, aren't just grey, many different subtle hues occur within the feathers. I have tried very hard to layer up subtle changes of colour to achieve are similar effect when you view it from a couple of feet away.

As well as many other fabulous kiwi designs and art objects, you can see more images of Riroriro Iti on
http://www.toggle.co.nz/ella-thomas.html

the latest korimako painting

Finally I have completed this little korimako / bellbird painting. I really like way the greens and other subtle hues have layered up in his feathers. By zooming in on the image you can see this more clearly.


'Korimako Iti' 2011
SOLD

 I was interested in experimenting with how I could render sound, especially the gorgeous song / call that they make. The linear forms are taken from an old copperplate, flourish, something I think is quite appropriate.




Detail

Somewhere, I have an MP3 file of an evening chorus from Tiritiri Matangi. Hopefully I can find it and somehow add it to this post . . . it was really quite amazing.


Here you can view more images of the painting.
http://www.toggle.co.nz/ella-thomas.html