Forest Kingfisher on Blue

Kingfishers are one of my favourite bird species to photograph, draw and paint. The rich blue feathers, and powerful beak of this striking variety enticed me to make a painting. They're usually found in forest woodland environments of Australia. I used a black primed canvas and painted the bird quite realistically with bold strokes. Lastly, I painted a bright cyan background, leaving a black key line around the bird to give a strong graphic feel to the piece. Float-framed in black wood.

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Susy Boyer is an Australian painter and illustrator living beside the sea in the Northern Rivers NSW.
Susy has spent most of her life as a creator and maker of things. These pursuits inspire her like nothing else, and she’s most happy exploring the colourful world of her imagination.
Graduating from The Qld College of Art, Susy spent five years working in Sydney and London as a graphic designer and illustrator of magazines. After some wonderful years in design, a yearning for more drawing time led her to a 30 year career in illustration.
For the past ten years Susy has worked in fine art. Re-discovering the joy and challenges of painting, and expressing her own ideas in the artworks. Her work has been exhibited at the Tweed Regional Gallery, The Brisbane Affordable Art Fair, Nature Co gallery Brunswick Heads, and The Powerhouse Museum, where she was a finalist in the Brisbane Portrait Prize.
Susy works mainly with graphite and coloured pencils, soft pastels, and acrylic on canvas. Her current subjects are landscapes, seascapes, native flora and fauna, and portraits, all with a theme of strong light and shadow. Her artwork is inspired by visual beauty and the wonder of nature. Susy finds inspiration and ideas beside the ocean, and likes to balance the many hours spent at her desk or easel with running on the beach and bush trails.