As a child, my parents supplied my brothers and I with tons of books about animals. We also always had a subscription to National Geographic magazine. In addition to the new magazines coming in we had shelves filled with ancient back issues. Countless hours were spent going through them, learning about exotic animals and far away places. I remember specific issues with great clarity. There was one on sharks that we looked through so many times it was wearing out.
One happy day I came across pictures of Cock of the Rocks in one of those old issues. I don’t recall if it was the Andean or the Guinean, and I suppose it doesn’t really matter, but I was fascinated. They were one of the most beautiful animals I’d ever seen, with the strangest orange slice shaped feathers above their head. The contrast of these orange and black birds on the dappled green background was spectacular.
I’ve wanted to do a painting of one for a long time, but have not seen them in zoos. When I saw this specimen of an Andean Cock of the Rock at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, I finally had some good references to paint from.
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