Sophie and the Congolese Sunset

 This was a commission piece created for a customer wanting to capture the intelligence and playful curiosity of their pet African Grey Parrot. I completed this using black walnut and came across the perfect live-edge pieces that managed to recreate the fluffy nature of it's wings. Along with the distinctive red tail feathers, silver and grey highlights were used to represent the streaking common of this parrot behind it's beak and around it's child-like eyes.

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Derisively known as the 'Heart of Darkness' for over a century, the Congo is an incredible place with amazing biodiversity and is also home to the African Grey Parrot (Congo Grey Parrot). In honour of the true beauty of the Congo, Sophie is shown proudly perching on the branches of the Lophira alata (red ironwood tree) which is known to be extremely hard and has been used all over Africa for railroad ties - hence the railroad spike. You can just about picture Sophie wagging back and forth on it. She sits in front of another incredible feature seen in the Congo and along it's infamous river (Congo River) - dark-red sunsets, nearly crimson and scarlet in colour - dominating the sky with it's beauty and forever establishing the promise of a new day.

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This piece weighs nearly 30 lbs and is approximately 24" Wide x 36" High x 1.5" Deep

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