In the Forest Deep and Dark

Pastel on Pastelmat Board ($POA)

Image size 47cm h x 56 cm w
Framed  83 cm h  x 65 cm w
The Azure Kingfisher is found across northern and eastern Australia, almost always above water. It patrols up and down waterways and rivers from perch to perch flying very fast, and only a few meters off the water, typically making a loud high pitched “seeeeeeeep” call. They are very defensive of their breeding territory and form monogamous pairs. Their nests are hidden away at the end of a burrow, dug out of soil in riverbanks. Both parents incubate and feed the chicks. This pastel artwork captures an Azure Kingfisher in a fragile eco-system, a deep and dark mangrove forest. My artwork has contrasted a monochrome background with the bright blues of the bird, thereby focusing on it and the purity of its environment, hoping to elicit in the viewer an urgent need to protect our critical coastal habitats for future generations.