Piwakawaka

Title: Piwakawaka
Medium: Acrylic on canvas.
This is a new style for me. I don't usually add a sole image to a painting with such an 'out there' background! I don't usually attempt birds either!I love the abstract background and the bright colours which I created with and piece of card used like a spatula to spread paint, monoprints and a regular paintbrush. Piwakawaka is the Maori name for the beautiful and charming fantail- I learnt a lot about fantails doing this! In the first 2 paintings I did in my visual diary I gave them brown tail feathers with white tips. When I actually Googled fantails I found out they had 10 white tail feathers and 2 black with white tips! Good save! I like the finished painting which I have done with the intention of entering into the Telecom art awards, although I am going to think about that for a few days just to make sure it's the right painting! The theme is "Essence of your region" and I figure that regardless of where you live in the BOP there are fantails. Fantails are fairly common in the region and most people will connect with them. I wanted a subject that represented the whole of the bay not just 1 or 2 of the towns. The colours represent the life and vitality of the bay and symbolise the growth of the region. Below is a close up photo of the fantail- both photos are low resolution.