Making Music

In my artwork, a giant and loyal bird is holding a stick. This is the palm cockatoo also known as the Goliath cockatoo as it is the biggest cockatoo in the world. They use sticks or cones from the sheoak tree as a “drum beat tool” to hit tree bark. They do so to attract a mate or warn predators and competitors to ‘shoo, shoo’. To make this artwork, I painted a box with acrylic for the background, used a real branch for the cockatoo to sit on, watercolour to paint the two cockatoos, and a small stick as its tool. The palm cockatoo among other amazing birds should be respected and helped. This unique species is facing a catastrophic crisis. In recent years, climate change has affected these dazzling birds as their breeding numbers reduced. We must save not only this species, but every other endangered animal as well.