Cockatoos

Hear me out for a second as I work my way to the point of this post.

Part 1: my dog has her own Instagram. Part 2: through my dog’s Instagram I’ve ‘met’ people from all over the place. Part 3: My dog is an Australian Cattle dog, so a plethora of her Insta-friends live in Australia.

Still with me?

Australia has some wildlife that we won’t ever see here in the northeasten United States. Example: Kangaroos! From what I understand, kangaroos are a menace, especially to farmers, down under. We think of kangaroos as these magical bouncy creatures (right?), but apparently they wreak a bit of havoc on crops. Noted, but I still think they’re cool. Also noted: I need to draw kangaroos, now that I mention it.

Also on the list of Australia’s wildlife we won’t see up here: their birds! Cockatoos are super common in Australia. On rooftops (apparently they are super loud and squawky too), or in groups hanging out peoples’ yards foraging for whatever cockatoos would forage for. My dog’s dog friends would tell you how fun cockatoos are to chase through the yard (I’ve seen their reels and the joy on the dogs’ faces during the chase, so I’d believe it!).

Lefty

I have a penchant for birds in my art, so why not add a cockatoo or two to my portfolio?

…but this time with a twist. This time I wanted to draw with a pen in each hand. Double blind contour, simultaneously, just to see what would happen. Honestly, my 10-year-old self practiced for this for several minutes decades ago (because what kid didn’t try to write with their non-dominant hand ‘just in case’ they were put into a situation where they had to?).

So… a pen in each hand. Feeling brave?

This guy (seen above) is Left cockatoo. The skinniest lines are the left-handed lines; everything else was added afterwards. I’m surprised but pleased that he didn’t turn out super wonkily. One thing I love about blind contour is that it gives a lot of creative leeway; Left cockatoo could have been super wonky, but I could have reeled him in a bit with some post-process lines. I’m game for that as-needed, but he didn’t require much extra finessing.

Next: Righty

Alright alright alright

I am right-handed, so I wasn’t too concerned about if my right hand was making something recognizable. I generally get into my art zone with zero expectations. This guy happened! Again, the skinny lines are the right-handed blind contour lines; the rest were added afterwards while looking.

Two buddies sitting around, [not] chewing gum

Here is the pair together.

I consider myself pretty non-traditional when it comes to the art that I make and the art that I gravitate towards as a viewer. This blind contour technique is still proving to be super-satisfying to me. The two-handed drawing idea is an added challenge that fits the whole look/feel. I will definitely do it again in the future - maybe with those kangaroos?