Photoart of steampunked kaka

Space parrots and artistic style

Bookmark with a parrot in a space suit and a butterfly
For those people who have only known me as an adult, my forays into the creative world may appear to be a new craze, but for those who knew me as a kid, they'll remember that I loved both art and science in equal measure. And often the two worlds would combine, like when I made a space rocket out of my Snow White talcum powder bottle and toothpaste caps, or when I illustrated a book on the planets (including Pluto of course!). I belonged to the local astronomy club when I was only 7 and I was selected as one of the top art students to go on a school trip to see the Thyssen-Bornemisza art collection at 11. I'd spend hours colouring and drawing - especially butterflies. All that ended when I was in my teens due to an illness - I was no longer able to hold a pen long enough to write, let alone draw. So art went by the wayside and I pursued maths and science instead. [...insert a 30 year gap...]
Bookmark of three photo-artistic works featuring kaka
Coming back to art as an adult has had its challenges, and like many, I worry that I don't have a "style" and that I'm scattered all over the place. I was reassured today that perhaps there was a vestige of innate personal style that I was drawing from. I was tidying my home office - which serves a dual purpose as an acoustics laboratory and an art studio - when I found this treasure. It's a bookmark I made my Nana over 40 years years ago - featuring a space parrot and a butterfly! Then I came across a more recent bookmark also featuring "space parrots" and butterflies :)
Back to blog

Leave a comment

Read more stories...

View all
  • Metal print of two kakapo

    All about fine-art metal prints

    All your questions about fine-art metal prints answered!

    All about fine-art metal prints

    All your questions about fine-art metal prints answered!

  • Calendar cover with a Skrark Art titipounamu photo

    Our annual labour of love for 2024

    My favourite project for Zealandia EcoSanctuary is creating the annual fund-raising calendar. And it takes around 18 months to create if you account for the effort required to obtain a...

    Our annual labour of love for 2024

    My favourite project for Zealandia EcoSanctuary is creating the annual fund-raising calendar. And it takes around 18 months to create if you account for the effort required to obtain a...

  • Watercolour painting of succulents along with art supplies

    A love for the strange and peculiar 🌵

    Come with me behind the scenes of my latest watercolour doodle "Strangely Succulent" and take a trip down memory lane to find out why I was so taken by these treasures!

    A love for the strange and peculiar 🌵

    Come with me behind the scenes of my latest watercolour doodle "Strangely Succulent" and take a trip down memory lane to find out why I was so taken by these treasures!

1 3
View all