(delhibirdpix) The Western Tragopan (Tragopan melanocephalus) – a painting, acrylic on canvas, 15" x 19"

The Western Tragopan  (Tragopan melanocephalus) – a painting, acrylic on canvas, 15" x 19"

Almost a decade ago, in 2006, I, along with a Danish friend,  made a series of exploratory treks into the remote Himalayan jungles of the Daranghati Wildlife Sanctuary in Himachal Pradesh. We were conducting a preliminary survey for the presence of the elusive and rare Western Tragopan. The locals call the Western Tragopan the Jujurana or the king of birds (Juju = bird and rana = king), in my opinion a much more appropriate name for such a regal bird.

In all we must have spent about a month in the mountains. It was tough but it was also one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life. (You can read a more detailed write-up about those treks at http://somendras.com/?p=283.)

We did discover a healthy a population of Western Tragopans living in these jungles and we also managed to see this most coveted of species. However, I was not able to get a photograph. My closest encounter with a Jujurana was on a high mountain ledge where I flushed a male bird just a few feet away from us. The moment is still perfectly  preserved in my memory.

A few months ago, while talking about my interest in painting birds, my friend Atul Jain suggested that I do a painting of the Western Tragopan. I did want to paint the Jujurana, but I had not taken up the project because of the difficulties involved. Very few reference photographs of the Jujurana are available and most of these are not of a good quality. However, after the prod from Atul, I decided to take up the challenge and paint the Western Tragopan that I had flushed from the ledge in the Daranghati Wildlife Sanctuary on that cold December day in 2006.

After many studies, compositional sketches and false starts, this is the best I could manage. Although far from perfect, I am personally quite happy with results as this painting does capture the feel of my first encounter with the Jujurana.

Click on the link below to see more details of the painting :

http://somendras.com/?p=1614

--

Somendra Singh

154 Pratap Nagar, 

Khatipura Road,

Jaipur 302 021

Tel. +91 98290 17439

www.somendras.com

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "delhibirdpix" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to delhibirdpix+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to delhibirdpix@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/delhibirdpix.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.