Hello and welcome to my very first blog post! I am very happy to finally be starting this blog journey, wahoo! It’s been a long time coming and I have finally got over the worry of ‘will my writing be good enough?’, ‘will people find this interesting?’, and all the procrastination that happens when starting something new. My goal is to share with you lots of different aspects of my life as a full-time artist and bird lover - behind the scenes, what I’m learning about conservation, all the amazing bush walks and bird watching spots around NZ, and of course show you more of my bird art. I hope you enjoy getting to know me a bit more, and please feel free to reach out and/or leave a comment too if you’d like.
I felt the perfect way to start a blog is with a new artwork, and this one is a real goodie! It makes me feel really happy to look at this drawing with its snuggly, warm vibe and I’ve really enjoyed drawing all the tiny details in this piece. Some of you may be reading this because you entered my naming competition that I posted on social media last week, and I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who entered; there were so many amazing suggestions! The artwork name I have picked is ‘Manaaki Kaka’, which translates to ‘take care of/sustain and protect’ Kaka. Congratulations to Jenna (@colecloo on instagram), who will be receiving the first A4 size print, for naming the artwork.
The finished artwork ‘Manaaki Kaka’. Click here for prints.
The name ‘Manaaki Kaka’ really stood out to me, as this artwork was commissioned by my good friend and fellow bird artist Judi Lapsley Miller. Judi and her husband Linton have been volunteering at Zealandia Ecosanctuary for the past 17 years, with 10 of those as Kaka handlers (aka Kaka whisperers). With Kaka, she started as a feeder, then doing monthly surveys, nestbox monitoring, and taking on more of the record keeping and breeding statistics, and together they have banded hundreds of Kaka chicks. Judi is a conservationist, avid bird photographer, uses her art and photography for wildlife advocacy, and regularly makes donations to conservation organisations from her art sales. She supplied the gorgeous reference photo for this artwork, which she took at Zealandia of a pair of young Kaka she monitored in the nest and watched grow up. It's Judi’s favourite Kaka photo she’s ever taken, as it captures their exuberance and love for one another. ‘Manaaki’ was the perfect word to use as it reflects the hard work Judi and many others are doing to take care of and protect our beloved Kaka throughout New Zealand.
Zealandia is a predator-free fenced mainland ecosanctuary in Karori, situated only 1.5km from downtown Wellington City (the capital of New Zealand). Prior to their introduction in 2002, Kaka were essentially extinct in Wellington, and are now one of Zealandia’s biggest success stories, with hundreds of Kaka now flying not only within the Sanctuary, but flowing over into the neighbouring suburbs too. Due to the success of Zealandia’s breeding program, they are now also nesting in the wild, which is amazing! To see Kaka in person you can take an easy 10 minute walk from the Zealandia information centre to the bird feeding station, where they often hang out. There you can see for yourself their funny individual characters (often hanging upside down from branches) and see how clever they are.
This original artwork is 56x76cm, drawn with Staedtler 0.05 tip black pigment liners, and took over a month to draw. The two Kaka are drawn on a native NZ Fuschia tree (kotukutuku) which is found in the sanctuary. They enjoy feeding on the nectar, fruit and invertebrates from the tree which is recognised by its flakey peeling bark and small purple flowers. Although the original artwork is unavailable, I am very happy to be able to offer limited edition prints from A4 to A1 size, which are available in my online shop.