radjah

I walked through a wetland with magnetic termite mounds to find the radjah shelducks

I observed this pair of radjah shelducks at a pond near darwin river, northern territory

Radjah Shelduck (Radjah radjah)

Radjah by Megan Spiers 2011
Oil on canvas, size 76 cm x 60.5 cm
SOLD – private collection, canberra

inspiration

Radjah Shelducks are a beautiful bird.

By the end of the Dry Season, however, their pure white feathers have become ruddy stained with dust and billabong mud.

In this painting, nothing impedes focus on the Radjah Shelduck, otherwise known as a Burdekin Duck.

Sometimes, all I can do as an artist is let the subject speak for itself. When this happens, my original vision changes according to the natural tendency of the painting. Inevitably, it works.

“Radjah” hung in my “Feather and Ochre” exhibition from 17 – 28 November 2011 in the Palm House, Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney NSW where it was acquired by private collectors.

artist’s process

I intended to paint a landscape but after finishing the tonal under-painting, I realised any background would compete for attention with the bird
this painting is fairly monochromatic with a loose oil wash fading into the water’s rippled surface

On show at the “Feather & Ochre” exhibition, Sydney