Recipe illustration, mixed media 2009

Here’s another illustration from my recipe book project. Initially I’d imagined the birds as rainbow lorikeets or something of their bright ilk, but then when I did a little research I realised that none of those lovely garish Aussie birds eat worms! So the ‘pasta/worm’ visual gag just wouldn’t work – or rather, it would, but with misleading dietary implications! A nectar-eater would never be tempted by spaghetti, no no no – and if there’s one thing I can’t stand it’s zoological laziness*. To cut a long story short, those are Masked Lapwings stealing the spaghetti, which could really happen, i promise!

* Zoological playfulness now, that’s a different story…