30 Sketches I Day 30

Well this is it...day 30. I did it! 30 sketches in 30 days and it was a wonderful experience. I already miss it but this Dodo sketch is the start to a new endeavor, The Nest Egg Art Project: Helping to Avert Extinction Through Art.

I am polishing my idea, collecting resources and contacts to get this project moving. Here is the rough proposal that I posted on an earlier entry:

I would like to produce a body of work using the imagery of extinct and endangered birds as well as birds that have been removed from the endangered species list as my subject matter. This collection of paintings will be priced to sell in a solo art exhibition and a portion of the proceeds will go to an avian conservation organization.

This project serves two purposes: it fulfills my love of painting birds and secondly, it brings forth the importance of avian conservation efforts to the public. Books and photos are my main resource for depicting my subject accurately but I do believe that witnessing the character of the bird first hand is extremely important as well. In order to capture a bird’s true unique traits, I plan to visit organizations that house some of these truly amazing creatures.

Through this project I hope to become a better artist, more knowledgeable of avian behavior, and become part of a community that supports the survival of an animal that I have become very passionate about.

This charcoal and pastel sketch of Lulu the wonder Dodo is the official spokes-bird of The Nest Egg Art Project. I am extremely excited about this project and it is something that I see not only for a one time exhibition but a cause that carries on throughout my life. Check out nesteggartproject.blogspot.com!