Mynah - Final

© Ellen Blonder

I have finally found some time to just about finish this mynah painting. I may play with the bird's feather texture a bit more, but I'll live with it a while first.

Mynah - More Progress

© Ellen Blonder

I'm slowly filling in background, adding details to the plants, still needing to add detail to the stem of yellow orchids.

Mynah - Progress

 © Ellen Blonder

I know I want a spidery yellow orchid to run diagonally across the upper part of the painting, but I'm still looking for plants to fill in elsewhere. 

 © Ellen Blonder

I've been walking, finding ground covers and a bromeliad I can try out.

© Ellen Blonder

I like the subtle reddish plants, but want to avoid bright flowers that would compete for attention with the mynah's extraordinary eye mask.

Mynah -First Steps

 © Ellen Blonder

© Ellen Blonder

I've been wanting to paint a mynah in Kauai for a long time. They're very camera-shy, and  always fly away before you can come close. I had to wait until I had a better camera with a telephoto lens, to get reference shots close enough to see details in the beak and the yellow superhero mask. This canvas is 12 inches by 16 inches, and I'm working in acrylics.

Mynahs

© Ellen Blonder

They're a bit raucous, but also amusing to look at, with superhero yellow eyepatches to match their yellow legs and beaks. They're also the most skittish of beggars, always flying away at my approach when other birds hold their ground to see what crumbs I scatter. These sketches are from some photos I took on a morning walk in Kauai. They'd never stay still long enough for detailed drawings like these.