Behind The Scenes - The painting of a koala joey by wildlife artist Marie-Claire Colyer
Medium: Acrylic on stretched French linen
Title: Endangered Koala Portrait: Hanging by a Thread
Size: 45 x 61cm (18 x 24in) with 3.8cm deep edge
Exhibited and Sold at the Sydney Royal Easter Show April 2024
Artist’s Statement: Why I created this artwork
The title ‘Endangered Koala Portrait: Hanging by a Thread’ encapsulates the real threat to these iconic animals. Like many of Australia’s species, koala populations were hit hard by the black summer fires of 2019/20. The back leg of the young koala in this painting has slipped from the broken branch, resting on one lower down. An analogy for their precarious position and their decline.
This painting is one of an ongoing series of portraits reminding that the viable population of wild koala is now endangered. It is a prompt for education and action. My aim as an artist is to focus awareness on the natural world in crisis.
It is important to me to paint these animals at this time, while the public empathy is aroused. Koalas are iconic, symbolising Australia to many around the world. Yet, like the kiwi of New Zealand we find ourselves in the position of having an animal so well known – depicted as it is on t-shirts, logos, tee towels, coasters – in the deplorable situation of being declared endangered.
How this artwork was created:
With this piece I painted on French linen for its natural weave and durability. Though these animals look grey, there is a range of tones through their fur. Often the cream of their bellies is stained ochre. There is pink and umber around their eyes and nostrils. Within the greys themselves lighting can dictate the tone. Fur in sunlight is warm, fur in shade is cool.
Selecting sienna highlights where light hits the fur contrasts with the blue tone of the background. Using opposing colours on the colour wheel gives these colours punch, making the subject stand out.
I used a palette of Mars Black, Prussian Blue, Raw Umber, Raw Sienna, Antique Blue, Antique White among others. For the background I used a mix of Carbon Grey as a base colour, blended with Mars Black, Antique Blue, Midnight Blue and Titanium White. These paints were blended using Wetting Aid. The paint was brushed flat and then scrumbled using an old round paintbrush mixing the paint in circles.
The creation of a painting of a koala joey in acrylic
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View to see the details of this koala joey painting
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