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faewynn — sisserou
Published: 2005-12-06 18:20:45 +0000 UTC; Views: 548; Favourites: 10; Downloads: 16
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Description
the endangered endemic parrot of dominica. prismacolor pencils on black paper. unfortunately, this is a cellphone shot of the framed original...hence the fuzzy quality of the image. i had already gifted it to a friend, and it was already framed and sealed...so i didn't wanna risk taking it apart again. so, you may not see all the individual pencil strokes of color in it's feathers.
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Comments: 15
I'm from Dominica, and this drawing really does the sisserou some justice. I'm gonna be painting one in the coming days as a gift for a friend as well.
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wow, thanks...that's a real compliment. i do hope i can still get there some day, and be lucky enough to see one.
btw, i just visited your gallery...and was blown away! you're amazing!
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Mmmm, very interesting colours. Reminds me a bit of a kakapo, the extremely endangered big green ground parrot of New Zealand. Great job with the texture of the brreast feathers and thanks for showing us something we might never have seen otherwise and drawing attention to it's plight. What are prismacolors, they seem very popular?
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thanks^^ yeah, a lot like the kakapo, and kea. what's fascinating about the caribbean is that each of the islands has it's own endemic parrots...even if they are only 30 or 40 miles apart. it's as much a showcase of speciation as the celebrated Galapagos...mb even more so. every island has it's own endemic plants, birds, reptiles, invertebrates...you name it! yet, so few are aware of it.
um, prismacolors are color pencils. i dunno, but i think they also make ink markers too. i think they are probably popular here cuz they are made here. i think they are harder to get overseas. but i find them the smoothest and easiest to work with.
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That's really interesting, I love how some places become really specialised. I love endemic stuff. So you got to see these parrots? In the wild?
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most of those parrots have been reduced to a handful on each island, and they are extremely difficult to find in the thick rain forests. so, unfortunately, i have not seen them in the wild yet...only heard them. there are captive programs to restore some of them...but they are really on the brink of extinction. i guess one would do better, if one sat quietly, and went inward to find them...you know how that works ~_^
but i have found many of the other endemic species of birds, plants, and invertebrates. they're still mostly ok.
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Reminds me of the Douglas Adams book, Last Chance to See. Have you read it? If not, I'm sure you would really enjoy it. What is their main threat? Lack of habitat, predators? They need a big campaign behind them, for they are beautiful and charismatic species, but I'd never really heard of them...
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no, i haven't...but i think i'll look for it. it does sound familiar. well, there's lots of habitat left on Dominica...it's touted as a nature preserve. but i think poaching and trade reduced their numbers long ago. it's colors change with the light, and can appear almost black at times. my Carib drawing is a Purple-throated Carib, which is also a unique species from that area, that only appears in a dozen islands in the eastern caribbean. it too looks black (like most hummingbirds) unless the light catches it at the right angle. James Bond's Birds of the West Inies is the best guide out there, with nice illustrations. and yes, he was the original inspiration for the James Bond character. he and Ian Fleming hung out together in jamaica ^^
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you really should make a tutorial how to color like that 
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thanks marya, that's a good idea! i'll have to think about how to do it (never having done one before). but it's basically the same way you do pastels...lots of individual strokes, blending together to create a color. mb, a little like pointalism.
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well, no...it's actually a matter of patience. that's the hardest part. you should try it ^^
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yeah but that's just it. i don't have any patience xP
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