Lorita Schmitz discusses the inspiration behind her naturotropic art.
Lorita Schmitz, wildlife artist, held her first solo exhibition, The Art of Flight, at Kingfisher Gallery in West Perth during August
My first solo exhibition is a culmination of many years of observing nature and discovering how integral our natural heritage of flora and fauna is to my artistic self-expression.
I have been fortunate enough to live in country Western Australia, the Pilbara and now the Darling Range east of Perth, and for 10 years lived at Karakamia Sanctuary near Chidlow, owned by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, a not-for-profit conservation organisation.
I attempt to depict nature as I see it, not as a scientific documentation, although I do refer to reference books, photographs and text.
I have always been fascinated by nature, how animals and in particular birds and plants have survived over thousands of years in Australia until the last 200 years when colonisation has caused many dramatic changes.
I have experienced directly how simple the answer to many of our environmental problems can be with time and money. By excluding introduced animals and revegetating habitat areas, native animals thrive. By preserving and maintaining remnant bushland we can support and protect the flora and fauna already present.
My interest in birds is a result of being awestruck by their delicate, lightweight feathers and their ability to fly quickly and great distances if needed.
Feathers are an amazing piece of engineering: barbs bearing barbules overlap and interlock, forming the web that then connects to the central shaft or rachis, making a vane which we call a feather.
There are also many different colours of feathers. The male bird generally has the most colourful. Sometimes feathers can blend in with rocks or bark to camouflage a bird in its environment.
Feathers are used in many cultures all over the world as body decoration, ceremonial adornments and head-dress, to symbolise great strength and beauty. Many religions and myths use birds in story or fable to symbolise freedom, peace or power.
Feathers have been used in the fashion industry for the decoration of hats and clothes since the Renaissance and we use the down from the eider duck in bedcovers and pillows.
"I attempt to depict nature as I see it, not as a scientific documentation, although I do refer to reference books, photographs and text."
So why then are we drastically changing the environment of a species that has managed to evolve and inhabit every niche on the planet?
The plight of our Western Australian flora and fauna has prompted me to depict through paintings the fragility and potential loss of many common species of birds that once inhabited our backyards.
Throughout the metropolitan area of Perth, on the Swan coastal plain and to the east on the Darling Scarp, there are banksia woodlands, jarrah and marri forests plus many wetlands supporting a variety of bird species. However, because of an increasing need for homes and public utilities, the natural environment is often under threat of clearing, which has a detrimental effect on bird populations.
Add to this the deterioration of bushland reserves through overuse, introduced weeds, particularly grasses, and too many frequent fires, often deliberately lit, means the diversity of our bushlands is compromised.
"The plight of our Western Australian flora and fauna has prompted me to depict through paintings the fragility and potential loss of many common species of birds that once inhabited our backyards."
In addition, the introduction of cats, mice and rats ensures any native fauna has a huge challenge just to survive in remnant bushland.
Some birds are able to adapt quickly, meaning an increasing number of larger birds such as magpies, ravens and red-wattle birds are more successful in disturbed areas. Introduced bird species such as kookaburras, rainbow lorikeets and laughing turtle doves have directly out-competed the smaller less aggressive native birds.
Insect-eating bushland birds such as robins and splendid wrens, rufous and golden whistlers are sometimes seen in the jarrah forest east of the metro area. Smaller honeyeaters such as the white-naped honeyeater and western spinebill need intact areas of habitat providing food and shelter. Once this is gone, so are they.
The absence of mature jarrah and marri trees with large hollows has impacted on the numbers of forest red-tailed black cockatoos and white-tailed black cockatoos, now threatened with extinction because they are unable to breed and rear young.
I hope my paintings convey the beauty and strength found in birds and promote the conservation of viable areas of habitat.
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