(Ramphastos toco)

inspiration

my computer restarted the other day and showed me a photo of a toucan. I was entranced by the bird’s bright colors. reference photo. I thought that the big beak must also be strong. Here’s a fact sheet. The beaks are strong, but also lightweight. Ways this creature is strong include:

• Size – this species can be up to 24 inches long and weigh up to 1.9 pounds. (Their beaks can be for times the size of their head.)
• Beaks allow them to reach farther and deeper. (Note the beaks are made of keratin like our fingernails only stronger.)
• Coloration provides camouflage.
• They can use their beaks to open and crunch nuts and seeds.

Creation and session log

1. I chose my colors (yellow, yellow-green, darker green, red-orange, light blue) I will be making black by using orange and dark green.
2. I roughed in some yellow, feeling my way through the layout of head and beak. This goes very slowly.
3. I started adding the body of the bird, mixing dark blue and orange. Now, I look at my notes and see it was supposed to be dark green. Whoops! Maybe that’s why I was painting gray instead of black. Try again… Mixing takes extra time and effort, but it feels satisfying to be learning something new. [I also looked at a different picture to think about background https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/files/2022/05/pexels-claiton-conto-5619205-scaled-e1653666663940-1280×721.jpg

Notice how the leaves and beak echo each other as far as size, shape, and color.

• I finished the body and head of the bird and roughed in the beak. There I was, with a paintbrush full of dark orange. One jerk of the head and – whoops – the bird now has a unnaturally long beak. That bright orange seemed like it couldn’t be removed.
• More details on the beak and eye. I needed black for several things. I mixed orange and green and blue. Used canned black for the eye because I was getting tired. It will be interesting to look at it next time I’m around the painting.
• Once I started painting green around the bird, I found myself most interested in filling space. I’m hoping to get one more session in to add more interest. (Watched this today and regretted filling the space: https://dailyquaker.com/2024/06/room-for-the-infinite/ )
• I spend a lot of time imagining what I will do in my next painting session. Then I get the brush in my mouth and do something else. Today I painted a few leaves in two corners of the painting. I played around with using some blue in the leaves, but I don’t think it shows. Then I repainted parts of the beak, background, and head of the bird. Now I feel done.

Insights:

• What if I plan to leave empty space? How few marks could I make to get the point across?
• I learned about mixing black by painting this and will be more confident in the future.
• Meeting the white and around the subject does set it off and bring it forward.
• I have a vision of where I want to go – be more comfortable and loose with painting. (Long way to go.)
• The strength of this image comes from the bright colors in the beak.