Friday, October 18, 2013

Quaker Parrot

Diane Mannion, Quaker Parrot, 6x6" oil on gessoboard

Bird Series

Another for my bird series.  While going through old reference photos, I found this shot of a Quaker parrot I snapped a few summers ago in Punta Gorda.  There's a large tree in a park which is home to a flock of these noisy, comical creatures.  When I zoomed in I noticed this parrot held a scrap of what looked like a candy or potato chip wrapper.  No wonder he liked hanging around the playground during lunchtime.
The thumbnail sketch.  I liked the leaf patterns and how the parrot blended into the background.

10 comments:

juliefordoliver.blogspot.com said...

This is a wonderful post for me to see. Your drawing is so beautiful with the dappled light and leaf pattern setting the mood...which is captured so amazingly lifelike - with color!
I was raised with birds as pets in the house so I think that is the basis of my attraction to anything "bird"
( I am working on a series of bird feathers at the moment.)

Anne Winthrop Cordin said...

I love how the bird and the background are so integrated! Beautiful colors too.

Diane Mannion said...

Julie! Nice to know you're a "bird" person also. I have American Singer canaries, Zebra Finches, and a pair of the world's most beautiful finch... the Gouldian. Also inherited the world's smallest parrot, a parrotlet who we call Mr Cranky Pants. The pit bull of the parrot world, but he has great character and sometimes doesn't bite me. One of these days, I'll need to paint my birds, too. Luckily I live in Florida where they all live outside in the lani. I'll be looking for your bird paintings!

Diane Mannion said...

Thank you so much, Anne. This painting was from an old photo reference shot that I wasn't "ready" to paint when I took it. It's fun to find reference material that I was once "afraid" to tackle and now feel much braver. Or maybe, just don't care if I foul it up or make mistakes.

Kikiblanca said...

These guys also squawk and bustle about, building their nests in the large date palms on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. You captured him beautifully! Like the dappled sunlight.

Diane Mannion said...

Thanks, Kikiblanca. They are tough little creatures, I've heard they can live through the winters up north, too. The smart ones live down here though.

Wendy Barrett said...

I love your gorgeous parrot Diane! Great angle and composition, and as always you have captured the light and shadows beautifully! We are very lucky here also to have many different varieties of parrots and galahs native to the area. They are raucous and mischievous and a lot of fun to see around.
I loved to hear that you have finches - I have seen flocks of zebra finches in the wild feasting on spinifex bushes in the Northern Territory of Australia near Ayers Rock. A stunning sight!

Diane Mannion said...

Wendy, Just watched a video on Youtube about birds... Parrots in the Land of Oz. Fabulous! Thank you for your kind comment.

Diana Moses Botkin said...

What a lovely painting! The patterns you've created really make this piece puzzling perfection. Very fun.

Diane Mannion said...

Thank you, Diana! It's fun playing with patterns of light and dark. I remember something called "figure-field-ambiguity" that was drilled into our heads in art school. The concept is letting the background and foreground compete in space. Good idea for a blog post.