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"Last of the Amhersts"
by artist Carel Brest Van Kempen
``Lady Amherst's
Pheasant (Chrysolophys amherstiae) enjoys a large natural
distribution in southern China and Myanmar. The species was named
for Sarah, Countess of Amherst, whose husband William sent the first
specimens to England early in the 19th century. Before long the
birds become favourites in aviaries, and several attempts were made
to establish them in the U.K. A population has managed to sustain
itself in the less-than ideal conditions of Bedfordshire for over a
century. To what degree they've been assisted by human hands is hard
to say, but their numbers are clearly dwindling; in 2005 it was
estimated that no more than 7 roosters persisted. Rather than
honestly depicting the English countryside, I opted instead to try
to evoke a classic English storybook style for the background``.
"Bare-Faced Curassow Sketch"
by artist Carel Brest Van Kempen
" The turkey-sized Curassows can be
found in wooded areas through most of tropical America, where they
are the largest ground birds. Related to the guans and chachalacas,
they are divided into 4 genera and 17 species. Curassows are less
social than most galliform birds, and adults are usually solitary.
They feed largely on fruit, supplemented with other plant matter and
invertebrates. The Bare-faced Curassow (Crax fasciolata) occurs in
eastern Brazil, Paraguay, eastern Bolivia and extreme northeast
Argentina".
"Yin and Yang - Blue - Throated
Bee-Eater
and Water Buffalo"
by artist Carel Brest Van Kempen
"Blue-throated
Bee-eaters (Merops viridis) are common from southern China through much
of Southeast Asia and the Philippines. Like all bee-eaters, these birds
specialize in hawking bees and other flying insects on the wing. Here,
the wild and dainty bee-eater contrasts with a partially-submerged beast
of burden, a domestic Water Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). The composition
of this painting was suggested by the Taoist Yin/Yang symbol, and is one
of several paintings of mine that have been compositionally derived from
religious symbols".
