Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Kookaburra


I saw a picture of this Kookaburra on flickr explore. I loved the photo and asked permission to paint it. A big thanks to Ian Sanderson for the great photo and his generosity. This was great fun to paint. Kookaburra's are one of my favorite birds. Nothing quite like a gang of these out on your fence or clothes line, anouncing to the world that they are alive and well! One of the things that I miss most about Australia!!

15 comments:

Iansand said...

And Ian Sanderson likes what you have done. Thanks.

Jenny said...

Very nice. I really like the way you have done the feathers and background.

caseytoussaint said...

This is incredible - the texture is perfect.

andrea joseph's sketchblog said...

Wow!
I must put your link on my blogroll.

Africantapestry and Myfrenchkitchen said...

I'm learning something here...I have never before heard of a kookaburra..? I wonder if we have it here in France. I'll keep an eye out for it. Love the painting you did though!
Ronell

Joan Y said...

Lovely kookaburra! They are really cool looking, aren't they! Great feathers Brian. They are really difficult to do but you've captured it well here! :)

brian nelson said...

Thanks for everyone's comments! Ronell, I tried to email you from work, but it did not go through. The kookaburra is the largest member of the kingfisher family. I would guess that you have kingfishers in France. They would be smaller though. I would also guess that they might be more colorful too. Typically, the kingfishers will dive into the water and catch fish. The kookaburra will eat snakes and lizards. To me that is an amazing feat as these guys are quite fat looking and do not even look like they can fly, let alone lift off carrying a load! The kookaburra is indigenous to Australia. I am going to see if I can search the web for a recording of their call. It is amazing to me that such a small bird can make such a racket.

Africantapestry and Myfrenchkitchen said...

Thanks for the info Brian..I can now understand why the name sounds very Australian...kookaburra...love saying it..
Ronell

Joan Y said...

Hey, I learned something new today! I knew kookaburras looked like kingfishers ... just didn't know it was one! :) Hey Brian, as agreed, you're tagged! Woohoo! Can't wait to learn more about you. Just check out my blog for more info.

Karen Sandstrom said...

This is so great, Brian. It also brings to mind the children's song about the kookaburra, which you probably know and are happy not to have to hear me sing. :-) It never dawned on me to wonder what a kookaburra looked like until I saw your great drawing.

Tracy said...

oh i like this. his feathers and very expressive eyes. and all the interesting kookaburra info. i often wondered what they looked like (yes, now i have that song endlessly going thru by brain - all day no doubt). looking forward to what you do next :-)

Claudia said...

We, too, in Germany, had to sing the Kookaburra song "Kookaburra lives in the old oak tree..." at school! I never saw one, although I have been to Australia.
Very nice painting!!!

suzanne cabrera said...

This painting is so warm...great job!

Robyn Sinclair said...

I really miss them too, Brian! Excellent painting and great expression on his face. Two used to sit on our back fence in Sydney. Sigh!

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