Don't know, Andrew. Perhaps just by making the background misty and less distinct, thus fooling the eye into seeing it like the way a photo has multiple focus. However it was done, it certainly caught my eye.
A great example of how a mural can beautify a public space. I love it! By the way, a few years ago while standing near a giant gum tree in Myers Park, Auckland, I saw a parakeet like the one in this painting (probably an Eastern Rosella) go flying past. Naturally, I did a double-take as NZ doesn't have Aussie parrots, and some people I talked to said I must have been mistaken. But my NSW garden is full of these birds and I know one when I see it. Was the rosella ever introduced to NZ in recent times or did I see a rogue stray - or an apparition?
Hi Dennis, I don't think the mural features a rosella, which don't tend to have blue heads. Some info on them here.
"The eastern rosella, according to Oliver, was imported to New Zealand in 1910 when a small shipment that had been refused entry by the Customs Department was released off Otago Heads from the ship that brought them. Other populations became established around Auckland in the 1920s and Wellington in the 1960s and are now the most common and widespread parakeet throughout the North Island."
The mural bird could be a lorikeet. I'm certainly open to other opinions!
Yes, the colours are more like those of the lorikeet (though still not quite right) but the body shape is more like that of the rosella. I'm amazed to hear that parakeets were introduced to NZ as I never previously saw one or heard of this before.
It is fantastic. How did the painter make it appear to be 3D?
ReplyDeleteDon't know, Andrew. Perhaps just by making the background misty and less distinct, thus fooling the eye into seeing it like the way a photo has multiple focus. However it was done, it certainly caught my eye.
ReplyDeleteA great example of how a mural can beautify a public space. I love it! By the way, a few years ago while standing near a giant gum tree in Myers Park, Auckland, I saw a parakeet like the one in this painting (probably an Eastern Rosella) go flying past. Naturally, I did a double-take as NZ doesn't have Aussie parrots, and some people I talked to said I must have been mistaken. But my NSW garden is full of these birds and I know one when I see it. Was the rosella ever introduced to NZ in recent times or did I see a rogue stray - or an apparition?
ReplyDeleteHi Dennis,
ReplyDeleteI don't think the mural features a rosella, which don't tend to have blue heads. Some info on them here.
"The eastern rosella, according to Oliver, was imported to New Zealand in 1910 when a small shipment that had been refused entry by the Customs Department was released off Otago Heads from the ship that brought them. Other populations became established around Auckland in the 1920s and Wellington in the 1960s and are now the most common and widespread parakeet throughout the North Island."
The mural bird could be a lorikeet. I'm certainly open to other opinions!
Yes, the colours are more like those of the lorikeet (though still not quite right) but the body shape is more like that of the rosella. I'm amazed to hear that parakeets were introduced to NZ as I never previously saw one or heard of this before.
DeleteWhere there are folks wanting a pretty bird in a cage, you'll find folks releasing them into the wild as well ...
ReplyDeleteThis is a Rainbow Lorikeet or a depiction of one (great pic too!) definitely lovely birds too. But they're also classed as a noxious species in NZ.
ReplyDelete