OSTRICH
SOLD - TD Art Gallery Paint-in 2014

1st place - FCA Vancouver Drawing Exhibition 2012

The ostrich is a timid bird in the wild, difficult to get near.  However, where they are farmed I have found them to be aggressively inquisitive and a bit intimidating.  We have, on occasion, had them stick their heads into the car and peck at anything that caught their attention.  They are large enough for a grown person to ride and on some of the ostrich farms in South Africa they are ridden in races to impress the tourists.  They can kick forward with tremendous force.  I have seen the bone breastplate of a dead ostrich with a hole through it from a kick it received in a fight with another ostrich.