*FRAMED* ORIGINAL ART – ‘Big Red’, Red Kangaroo

Description

‘Big Red’*

2022
Ink and watercolour
Artwork: 510mm x 510mm
by Shannon Dwyer

‘Big Red’ 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.

 

Artwork details:
Original watercolour and ink artwork, ‘Big Red’, the Red Kangaroo.*

Before starting an artwork Shannon researches her subject thoroughly to intimately know its habits, movements, personality and colouring to ensure she can capture it all in her artwork.
One of the bonuses of this research for her art collectors is that her research is then also combined into a summarised paragraph which becomes part of the Certificate of Authenticity.

Kangaroos are one of the most iconic and uniquely Australian animals – EVER! This big, gorgeous and insanely…strange creature has captivated Shannon’s head for far too long! So, here he is! A big booming boy staring down all the competition!

Red Kangaroos are the world’s largest marsupials, famous for their means of locomotion: hopping! They can clear over 8m with a single hop! Males are double the body weight of females, weighing up to 92kg and growing up-to two metres tall. It is found throughout the semi-arid and arid regions of central mainland Australia. Summers in Australia often reach well over 40°C which is why they are most active at dawn and dusk. Yet, ridiculously, Red Kangaroos can’t sweat when they are hot. Instead, they lick their chests and the insides of their forearms till the skin is soggy as the blood vessels in these areas are close to the surface so, when the moisture evaporates, it cools the blood, which then cools them down. Red Kangaroos have the ability to survive when water is scarce. The herbage and foliage that it eats provides them with their water needs as well as their nutritional requirements. The word kangaroo derives from ‘Gangurru’, the name given to Eastern Grey Kangaroos by the Guuga Yimithirr people of Far North QLD. Kangaroos are of cultural and spiritual significance to Aboriginal people across Australia. Plus, their meat was, and continues to be, a staple protein source; pelts used for clothing and rugs; and their skin crafted into water bags. Like all marsupials, they have pouches where the joeys are reared, drinking milk from mammary glands. Reproduction is very sensitive to environmental conditions. The Red Kangaroo can breed all year round however spring and summer tend to be times when most young are born. Having only one joey annually, they’re able to keep extra embryos in a dormant state (‘embryonic diapause’) until the first joey leaves the pouch. They can have a joey at their feet, one in the pouch and another in diapause all at the same time. Incredibly, each of the female’s four teats provides different milk for the different stages of the joeys’ development. Conservation status: Least Concern.

 

*Artwork is framed. Price includes signed original artwork, Certificate of Authenticity. Shipping quoted separately.