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Exquisite Pastel Portraits Capture the Colorful Beauty of Different Birds

By Margherita Cole on August 8, 2022

Beautiful birds come to life in Sally Edmonds‘ pastel portraits. The Australia-based artist uses numerous pastels and colored pencils to capture the vibrant plumage of parrots, wrens, roosters, and other avian animals. Through meticulous blending and layering, she renders vivid profiles of birds that celebrate their individuality.

Originally from the UK, Edmonds emigrated to Australia with her husband where she eventually started working as a full-time artist. Her interest in birds as subjects was sparked when she began keeping them at home and learning about their unique personalities and mannerisms. “Until you live with a bird, you don't realize how individual and complex they are,” Edmonds tells My Modern Met. “It completely changed my life. I now have eight birds living with me and a career I couldn't have imagined in my wildest dreams.”

Her portraits typically feature close-ups of the bird's face, where Edmonds layers various pastel and colored pencil hues to replicate the luster of their feathers and alert eyes. She tends to set the illustrations against a blank or pared-down background so that the image of the bird is clearly emphasized, similar to a formal portrait that a human would have. “I’m endlessly fascinated and inspired by birds,” Edmonds admits. “They have a character and a whole life of their own. I try to show this in my work and I hope that my real affection for them comes through. Plus, they are dinosaurs, which is very cool.”

You can purchase prints of Edmond's art via her online shop, and keep up to date with her latest exhibitions by following the artist on Instagram.