Kings Landing – SOLD

Kings Landing (Wedgetail Eagle) Original Fumage 425gsm cellulose archival paper 39cm x 57cm – SOLD

Maegan’s Inspiration: “True royalty of the southern sky, our Wedge-tailed Eagles have such majesty in their presences. It really feels like an honour to come across one in person, though they are usually soaring through the clouds. When they do land and close enough to get a photo, that very moment is one that stays with you forever”.

The Wedge-tailed Eagle is the largest bird of prey in Australia and among the largest in the world. They are found in all-natural habitats including open plains, on the edge of forests, and mountains. Majestic in manner, they can often be seen soaring high for long periods or perched conspicuously on the top of trees, telegraph poles, or rocky outcrops. Like many birds of prey, they have incredible eyesight, possess massive claws, and have a formidable beak. Increased feral prey, deforestation, and available carrion have had a positive impact and seen increased populations throughout the mainland subspecies. However, despite total legal protection; they are still trapped, poisoned, and even shot at.

“Painting with Fire” is the technique of dancing an open flame underneath paper to leave a layer of soot and etching it away with various tools. Sometimes metallics such as copper, gold and silver are interwoven into the artwork. Maegan sketches a composite of the subject as a guideline to manage proportions for accuracy. A flame is then applied from several sources (such as candles, fossil fuels, wood etc.) carbon soot is then layered onto the sketch. Maegan then painstakingly removes layers by etching with various tools including brushes, hand tools and erasers. It is an extremely delicate and lengthy process.  Maegan has a Bachelor of Design Arts with majors in Graphic design and Visual Arts. Having grown up with many animals on a goat farm in rural Queensland she developed a respect for all animal life and observed a significant and worrying decline in our natural world. Her passion for animals and her natural artistic ability has led to her creation of “Painting with Fire”. Working with natural materials and utilising layers of soot from burning candles over her sketches of the animal’s portraits she painstakingly removes layers by etching with various tools. It is a delicate and lengthy process but the resulting animal portrait is well worth it giving each one the voice it truly deserves. Maegan has been accepted as an Associate Member of the Society of Animal Artists. She has been a finalist in several prestigious competitions including the Holmes Prize for Realistic Bird Art and Internationally in the Art Renewal Centres 15^th and 16^th International Salon Competitions.

Original artwork by Maegan Oberhardt ARC Living Artist.

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