recent work
Broad-billed Motmot Acrylic on canvas, 70x50cm
Broad-billed motmot, acrylic on canvas 70x50cm
This beautiful bird is found from Central America to the Amazon Basin. I first saw it at the Panama Rainforest Discovery Center located in Gamboa (https://pipelineroad.org/en/). This is a great place to do birding in Panama as it is easily accessible, within the preserved rainforest areas that straddle both sides of the Panama Canal along the Chagres River that was flooded create the Canal, also creating Gatun Lake in the process.
I did this painting as I do with most of my subjects, from my own reference material…in this case really close-range photos. On a visit to the Rainforest Discovery Center, while leaving the hummingbird feeding station (one of the core attractions of the Center), I literally bumped into the bird that was quietly perched at eye level just a few metres in front of me; it posed long enough for me to get some nice photographs.
I started the painting back in June 2019 and only finished up in October 2020!
Slaty-tailed Trogon Acrylic on canvas, 70x50cm
Slaty-tailed trogon, acrylic on canvas 70x50cm
In Panama I first encountered this amazing bird in the Parque Natural Metropolitano (http://www.parquemetropolitano.org/), a beautiful green space located northwest of downtown Panama City, connected to the wider protected forests on either side of the Panama Canal. I live only a few minutes drive away, so is a favorite spot to visit. I have also seen it at the Panama Rainforest Discovery Center located in Gamboa (https://pipelineroad.org/en/). It is found mainly in Central America through to the western extreme of Colombia.
Trogons have strikingly beautiful plumages with iridescent hues, I always challenging to represent effectively on canvas. I painted this one from photos I took of the bird at the Rainforest Discovery Center. In the background are foliage of the Cecropia tree, one of my favorite rainforest trees to depict in my art. Cecropias are common in meso-American forests including the Caribbean.
The first scribbles went on the blank canvas in October 2019 and only finished up a full year later!