This portrait of a Curl Crested Acarai which is a member of the Toucan family was done with Pan Pastels and Derwent Pastel Pencils on 7 x 9.5 slate Pastel Mat paper, It was great fun and took over a bit over an hour. I like using the swarth of blue in the background rather than creating a fully detailed background or just leaving it gray. This painting was created without a drawing, using the pastels to block out the body of the bird.
You can watch a time lapse video of the creation of this beautiful bird on my YouTube channel. Click here to see the video.