ORIGINAL ART – ‘CAUTION’, Cassowary

Description

‘Caution’

2023
Ink and watercolour
290mm x 380mm
by Shannon Dwyer

Certificate of Authenticity information:

‘Caution’ was created using a traditional nib dip pen and ink, along with professional-grade watercolours executed on 425gsm 100% cotton rag watercolour paper. This original artwork includes the ‘Shannon Dwyer Original’ embossment and hand-penned signature validating it as an original artwork of Shannon Dwyer.

Wow! What a bird – so prehistoric! It was the uniquely-shaped ‘helmet’ on the Cassowary’s head (Shannon prefers to think of it as a crown) that Shannon couldn’t get out of her head and set the urge to paint this glorious creature!

The Southern Cassowary, also known as the double-wattled cassowary, is a large, flightless bird native to the tropical rainforests of New Guinea and north-eastern Australia. It is the third tallest and second heaviest bird in the world, reaching up to 1.7m in height and weighing up to 60kgs. Its body is covered in prehistoric-looking black feathers, while its head has the bird’s most distinctive feature: a helmet-like casque, which is made of keratin (the same substance as human hair and nails). The casque is believed to have several functions, such as protection during head-butting contests with other cassowaries, amplifying sounds made by the bird, and attracting potential mates. Southern Cassowaries are important to the ecosystem as they are considered a keystone species, playing a vital role in seed dispersal throughout the rainforest. They are also known to be territorial and aggressive, especially during breeding season, and can be dangerous to humans if provoked. Despite being a protected species, their population is declining due to deforestation and fragmentation of their natural habitat (agriculture, logging, urbanization), hunting and road accidents. Conservation Status: Vulnerable.

*Artwork price includes signed original artwork, Certificate of Authenticity and free delivery within Australia*

Artwork is unframed so you don’t pay unnecessary freight costs and will be able to choose the frame of your liking.
This piece will be delivered in a large reinforced postage tube, rolled securely in (and protected by) acid-free tissue paper.

Framing tips and suggestions:
This piece is best ‘float-mounted’ and framed behind glass.
‘Float-mounting’ allows the paper to have a bit of ‘freedom’ which watercolour paper often needs as its rarely perfectly ‘flat’. By ‘mounting’ the artwork, it showcases the raw edges of the watercolour paper and subtle wave of the paper to enhance the the fact that its an original artwork with delicious ‘imperfections’.