Vulturine Guineafowl:

Jan is starting to build up paintings for her one woman exhibit at FORBES MAGAZINE next March (click PEOPLE, PLACES AND NEWS button for more information). This is a painting of Vulturine Guineafowl done from Jan and James last annual trip to Kenya.

NATURAL HISTORY NOTE: There are three species of Guineafowl - Helmeted, Crested and Vulturine. Vulturine are found in NE Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia with a few also in Northern Tanzania. While looking at her photos Jan noticed that some of the birds had multiple "spurs" on their legs. Not knowing if this was usual or not Jan emailed one of her natural history experts - in this case it was one of the leading ornithologists on East African birds (having written the definitive guide for the area). When she received an email back he had said that he was intrigued by her question and hadn't known the answer so he had emailed a colleague in the British Museum. This biologist had then pulled study skins from the collection of the museum. He had not noticed this either. His observation was that many of the skins DID have up to five "spurs" and concluded it may be an age related phenomenon he then commented, "Maybe this is something to look out for out of interest in the field maybe....!?"

In her initial drawing she had only put one spur on the guineafowl in the far right of the painting. Notice later in the painting after this email exchange, she added more spurs to the bird.

Jan always pulls lots of reference photos and does research in books before she begins a painting to make sure all the natural history is correct.

Jan has transferred the overall outline of the birds from her drawing to the painting surface which she has painted an overall purplish brown. Next to the painting you can see some of the reference photos she is working from that she and James took in Samburu National Park in Kenya.

Here Jan has masked out the outlines of the birds in preparation of doing the background. She has accomplished this with an artist masking fluid and saranwrap.

Jan has started work on the back and foreground and removed the masking materials from the birds.

Here Jan has transferred the drawing to the birds and completed several in the back on the right.

In this photo the front bird has been started so you can see how Jan does feathers.

Here all the birds on the right are done and some are completed on the left. The front left one has some of the artist masking fluid on it to protect the brown area from brush strokes from the bird above it that is in the middle of completion.

This is the finished painting "Gaggle of Vulturines". Jan liked the idea of birds going out of the painting edges to give the impression of the large flocks you will see of these birds. Notice the multiple spurs on the bird on the right which she added after the exchange with the experts seen above under "Natural History Note".