I knew that I wanted to draw a songbird with this excerpt from Rimbaud. So I decided to find a French songbird to be my subject. The Ortolan came up swiftly. I was immediately charmed upon hearing its sweet warbles and viewing its lovely feathers.
I read about its place as a delicacy, eaten whole, in France. I also read that recently it has become endangered to the point that it is no longer legal to serve, however it is still dwindling in numbers as a species due to poachers.You can read more about this here.
It felt very appropriate to pair my ink & watercolour rendition of this bird with Rimbaud's excerpt.
