‘Alarm’

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Father and mother avocet fly disstressed against a bright blue sky. “Get rid of those snoopers, our young may be in danger!” These vulnerable looking birds are remarkably assertive, which is probably essential if you want to raise your brood in such open wetlands full of enemies.
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This painting was an experiment with strong backlight. I love partial transparency, as can be seen in water surfaces, cloudy water, fog, and as here in the translucent wing and tail feathers of these avocets. This way you can immediately see how brilliantly these biological flying machines are put together. Image 3 shows the very fine detail in which it is painted.
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Here you can see how detailed the painting is.
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And this is how the design came to life: with long studies of, among other things, this self-made model.
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‘Alarm’
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Avocets (Recurvirostra avosetta)
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150 x 50 cm – acrylic painting on panel – € 1950, –
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Jeroen Verhoeff, Wildlife Artist