Self portrait with Vonnegut & Schiele
100x75cm oil on canvas.
This painting was a finalist in the Brisbane Portrait Prize. In this self-portrait, I wanted to capture what it is like living with two vivacious parrots, particularly at bath time. Schiele, my female parrot, will demand I run both the shower and the sink so she can alternate between the two, drying herself on my hair and the hand-towel in between. Meanwhile Vonnegut the male, will patiently wait until it is his turn.
Keeping the birds out of the bathroom while I painted this from life was challenging. There’s varied shadow directions as I painted at different times of the day to accomodate my birds’ self-imposed schedule. I also had to move the painting out of the bathroom several times a week so they could shower.
Anne Smerdon is aBrisbane-born artist focused on the complex but often-overlooked minds and personalities of birds. With an extensive knowledge of bird psychology and body language, Anne uses her work (and her parrot's social media following) to raise awareness and educate others about protecting and caring for our wild and captive birds.
100x75cm oil on canvas.
This painting was a finalist in the Brisbane Portrait Prize. In this self-portrait, I wanted to capture what it is like living with two vivacious parrots, particularly at bath time. Schiele, my female parrot, will demand I run both the shower and the sink so she can alternate between the two, drying herself on my hair and the hand-towel in between. Meanwhile Vonnegut the male, will patiently wait until it is his turn.
Keeping the birds out of the bathroom while I painted this from life was challenging. There’s varied shadow directions as I painted at different times of the day to accomodate my birds’ self-imposed schedule. I also had to move the painting out of the bathroom several times a week so they could shower.
Anne Smerdon is aBrisbane-born artist focused on the complex but often-overlooked minds and personalities of birds. With an extensive knowledge of bird psychology and body language, Anne uses her work (and her parrot's social media following) to raise awareness and educate others about protecting and caring for our wild and captive birds.
100x75cm oil on canvas.
This painting was a finalist in the Brisbane Portrait Prize. In this self-portrait, I wanted to capture what it is like living with two vivacious parrots, particularly at bath time. Schiele, my female parrot, will demand I run both the shower and the sink so she can alternate between the two, drying herself on my hair and the hand-towel in between. Meanwhile Vonnegut the male, will patiently wait until it is his turn.
Keeping the birds out of the bathroom while I painted this from life was challenging. There’s varied shadow directions as I painted at different times of the day to accomodate my birds’ self-imposed schedule. I also had to move the painting out of the bathroom several times a week so they could shower.
Anne Smerdon is aBrisbane-born artist focused on the complex but often-overlooked minds and personalities of birds. With an extensive knowledge of bird psychology and body language, Anne uses her work (and her parrot's social media following) to raise awareness and educate others about protecting and caring for our wild and captive birds.