Just about everyone loves a magpie. They probably rival the kookaburra as the most revered and best-known Australian bird. I enjoy the company of the local Maggies in my backyard and to paint a picture of them seemed the obvious thing to do. Maybe it’s a bird portrait? To paraphrase De Kooning when he was asked why he painted nudes his reply was “well why wouldn’t you”. I feel the same about the beautiful magpie, why wouldn’t you paint one?
