"The Chilean Flamingo" - Santa Barbara Zoo Series

Private Commission

Birch and Mahogany - 5 layers - 65 Pieces

24” x 18”

The Chilean Flamingo ended up being one of the more elegant designs of the group. I really wanted to find a view of this bird that showed off the vibrant pinks on the feathers while giving a really detailed view of the distinct neck and bill that make this creature so unique. I settled on a partial view of the body and a full view of the neck and head to do all these detailed areas justice. This was a design that needed to be done multiple times in order to get the right look and I think the end result is a beautiful representation!

The real challenge of this design came in creating the feathered look of the wings. The feathers on the neck and head were so tiny and unnoticable that I felt like the grain of the wood was a better representation of anything I could have created at this scale. The detail around the head and face of the flamingo came out great and the background added a great splash of color and texture while not taking away too much from the main design. All together there were 45 pieces making up the flamingo and 20 long pieces making up the blades of grass in the background!

The color scheme of the flamingo was by far the most demanding of the group. In order to get the 4 different shades of pink I wanted to use to make this bird as vibrant as it needed to be I had to custom mix shades of latex paint and thin them out with a glaze into custom stains. This technique allowed me to get these beautiful pinks while still showing the grain of the wood underneath. The background grass of this design was colored with custom shades of green that really complimented the colors of the flamingo. I finished this project off with a frame of South American Mahogany that really played off of the naturals and pinks in this design.