Sunday, November 1, 2009

Black Eagle - Maree Clarkson

There is nothing in which the birds differ more from man than the way in which they can build and yet leave a landscape as it was before.

- Robert Lynd



"Black Eagle"

I am utterly fascinated by birds, raptors in particular. To me they are the kings of the skies and their survival plight, as cities grow and multiply, is of on-going concern to everyone, or should be, at least.

After making a sketch of this Eagle at the Botanical Gardens, I retired to my studio when I got home to do the colour bit from memory.

The resident pair of Black Eagles in the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens in Roodepoort, Gauteng, South Africa, is under threat from urban spread. Read more about the Black Eagles, Emoyeni and Thulani, at Hedgie's Nature Journal. Did you know that Black Eagles are born white?

7 comments:

  1. Wow Maree, what else are you doing? LOL Your sketches are great, you're very talented.

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  2. Thank you Muriel. What else am I doing? ANYTHING to do with art! How about adding me as a friend on Vroue-Dagboeke? I sent the request some time ago... Regards

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  3. Dankie Ronell! Hulle is ook my gunsteling voëls, en ek lief dit om na die Walter Sisulu Botanies tuine te gaan en hulle dop te hou.

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  4. My apologies to members for the Afrikaans, but Ronell is ex-South African, living in France, and she enjoys speaking and writing her mother tongue from time to time!

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  5. You've captured it's proud stance so well! Love the language exchange between you and Ronelle. Wish I could hear it spoken :)

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  6. Thank you Pam. Afrikaans is a very guttural language, very similar to Dutch, and when speaking English, my accent is often confused with being Australian.

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