Wall color:
|
The setting for this painting is in the World Heritage-listed Lamington National Park at O’Reilly’s, Queensland Australia. There was intermittent low cloud with occasional bursts of sunshine; the trail being damp underfoot and strewn with debris after a few days of heavy rain and wind. As I was climbing over a fallen tree I luckily spotted a soft shaft of light illuminating a juvenile tree with an intertwined moss-covered vine. I quickly took a few photos of this fleeting moment. Returning to my studio I quickly realized that I had the perfect partner for that setting, a Superb Fruit Dove which I had previously photographed. I then did little thumbnail sketches to mix and match several poses of the bird to complement the scale of the setting. During the painting process I quickly realized the complexity of those breast feathers, insanely fine soft detail, layer after layer: so many reworks enhancing the sparkle of light and general balance of the composition keeping in mind the Superb Fruit Dove was the focal point.
