“double crested cormorant”
inspiration
One of our happy places is Baja, California, the beautiful peninsula in Mexico between the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez. My husband and I have had many trips to Baja, exploring the desert, petting whale calves, snorkeling with sea lion pups, kayaking among the offshore islands and hanging out on beaches with friends. On our last trip to Baja in 2021 we camped on a bay filled with pelicans, blue footed boobies, gulls, osprey, frigates, king fishers and cormorants. We were lucky to get to see the male Double Crested Cormorant in his full plumage. Cormorants sit low in the water. Their feathers are shiny and smooth. We spent hours watching them up close from our kayak as they dove for small fish and sat with wings spread drying in the sun.
technique
I created an armature of wire and aluminum foil to form the neck and head of the bird and scrunched foil to form the body. The beak needed a material that could be very smooth, so I used Apoxie Sculpt for it and super heavy gesso applied to the rest of the bird with a pallet knife to form the sleek feathers. I painted it with acrylic, then threaded fine wires through the head to create the feathered crest and painted each wire with white acrylic. I mounted it on a mirror to give the illusion of resting low in still water and for the fun effect of seeing its reflection.
materials
Foil armature, super heavy gesso, Apoxie Sculpt resin, acrylic paint and a plexiglass mirror
Dimensions for this piece: 8”H x 12”W x 10”D