A couple of Gang- gangs (2018) Painting by Susan Willemse

This artwork shows two of Canberra's emblem birds- the Gang-gang Cockatoos. They are very cute small cockatoos that have a sound like a bark tree limb in the wind. The male has red head feathers that are curly and is slightly smaller than the female. The female being slightly larger has red amongst her grey feathers on her chest, These two were preening before they spotted us and looked away but they remained close to each other during the photography shoot extremely high up in the gums which is why the leaves became a blur as we focused our lenses on the birds just like I used to do with the microscope focus for many years to see cell nuclear detail. I have tried to capture this detail in my artwork as well, something I can only do with the use of a camera lens- for it would be difficult to sketch these birds quick enough to obtain all the texture and colour detail required. Studying the birds in real life is followed by study of the images later. Being a ex-medical scientist also means that I have portrayed these birds accurate to scale as well through this technology but being a artist I now have had the freedom to explore purple shadows as well. I learnt only recently while stroking the soft feathers of a Gang-gang that they have green feathers when healthy on their backs- these birds were too far away to get this information facing us but be sure to follow my feed- the next ones I paint will have a healthy green colour as we captured the backs of some recently while out doing bird photography! Thus this is my interpretation of these stunning feathered birds explored by skills and knowledge I have gained in life.

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GanggangCockatoosCanberraEmblemAustralian