#GANG GANG COCKATOO MALE HOW TO#

The female seems to have damage to her beak and some regrowth. The gang-gangs' beaks are so expressive! The male’s beak doesn’t close quite properly: the bottom beak closes to the right of his top beak giving him a lopsided grin. I did the beaks next because again I felt if the beaks weren’t right, the birds wouldn’t be right. I used some masking fluid to preserve the highlights and parts of the skin around the eyes, and I made a mix using some of the red used for the males face along with a blue grey mix that I used for the both birds feathers. Most wildlife artists would tell you do the eyes first, because if the eyes aren’t right, the picture won’t be right. In painting the birds, I started with the eyes. Beverley's reference photo had the female facing to the left so I flipped the image so the male and the female are facing more or less the same way having this conversation.

#GANG GANG COCKATOO MALE HOW TO#

For example, they could be like a couple discussing how to stop the kids spending too much time on the screen. I studied all the photos for a number of days - even months - before I decided on the composition of this artwork.Īs artists, we're encouraged to try and have three objects in a piece of art rather than two, but in this case, I wanted a pair of the birds looking as if they are having a private conversation. Luckily, there were adult males - as well as females balancing on branches near the fountain, and diving in to have a drink. There were several juveniles, the males with less vivid, red heads and more patchy colour. From this trip, the gang-gangs taken at the water fountain at the caravan park really fit the bill.

Once we return, Beverley's photos get processed and edited, and so on, and then I sift through them, seeing what's going to work for me.

Gang gang cockatoo male