Finally after 3 weeks of staring at the white canvas, I braved a start, laying down a yellow ochre wash to get the tonal values right. 

This one is the third larger scale piece I am tackling. Hoping to have ten completed by end of 2026.  I have been entering open calls and will be resetting my website to go over to my art and writing. My shop in The Tea Lounge and my products in Aubusson Boutique are selling well, so I don’t need to sell online. With tarriffs and Brexit, sending products from France is too costly.

I applied to Jacksons Art to try and win some lovely art materials and also the Chelsea International Fine Art exhibition.  Both awaiting the results.  And I have more to try over the coming year.

This painting 58 x 70cm is in acrylics and shows a Dodo, a condor and a quetzal bird, symbols of the Incas and Aztecs.  The poor Dodo was decimated by the Dutch whilst the Spanish conquered the South American civilisations.

This painting is how I imagine the last Dodo. In my novel, the last Dodo survives. He is a happy bird but knows time isn’t on his side.

I like to get the skies down first as these help control the tones of the rest. I use impasto on the waves to add dimension and there will be many glazes as I work on details.

The next stage can be tricky, so I usually work a bold colour area, like the flags that are here,  and scenery that’s in the distance.  This then gives me the contrasting darks, lights and strongest colours. The rest will fall in between. My favorite part is adding all the details, feathers, stones and the little symbolic items.

This will take me around 60 hours to complete, but I love every minute.

I will post again when completed, around end April.