Parrots of the World by Joe Forshaw

[Betrisher]

Woohoo! I've been after a copy of this book for nearly forty years and I finally got it today! Thank heaven for good old ebay.

Back when I was a very young birdo, our birding club went to visit the illustrator, Bill Cooper, who lived not too far from us. On the day we arrived, he was painting the Yellow Headed Amazon and we were all utterly amazed at the ease with which a tiny brush of white or gold could add so much realism to the bird that was materialising before our eyes. Bill Cooper is one of Australia's foremost bird illustrators and most of his work is done from actual specimens viewed in the wild. The book, 'Parrots of the World' was a real labour of love and it's why I wanted that edition rather than the later one illustrated by a different bloke, Frank Knight.

Last year, I missed out on a copy by a millifirkin when I bid just a dollar too little on ebay. This year, I was luckier and a beautiful, spotless, affordable secondhand copy is now MINE! I hope to get a look at it soon, too. ATM, my son is poring over every gorgeous page and loving it to bits.

Do yourself a favour and google 'William Cooper, bird illustrations'.

 

[Kiwibird]

Oh Trish, you are going to LOVE this book (if you can ever get it away from your son that is)! My parents have a copy and I just loved it when I was a kid (it's an older edition with the amazons on a white backdrop for the cover, I remember it vividly). There are parrots in there you never knew existed, and just so much fabulous information not to mention the visual splendor of all the images. Should we just assume if we don't see you around on the forum that your busy with your book? Best keep your beakies and Dominic away! You wouldn't want real parrots putting their "mark" on it

 

[RavensGryf]

I just looked at William Cooper's bird art.. Very nice! Realistic looking. There's nothing worse than looking at terrible illustrations . (Well, not that there's nothing worse LOL!)
Good for you. I'm happy you finally got the copy you wanted in good condition too! Maybe you could look over Matt's shoulder for now?

 

[Betrisher]

It is a beautiful book and the information is great. There are certainly illustrations of all sorts of amazing parrots I've never heard of as well as many common favourites from good old Oz.

I'll never forget the day I saw Bill Cooper painting his Amazon: it literally came to life before our eyes with just brush strokes and little hints and tints of white and yellow. I'd never seen an artist at work before and I have to say I was utterly stunned at the realism this guy could achieve. I like to think I'm a pretty good pencil sketcher, but there is no way I could achieve anything with paint the way Bill Cooper does! Of course, the other thing is his attention to the Botany in the birds's surroundings. He faithfully reproduces the plants and trees that occur in the actual habitats of the birds and it really allows you to put each specimen right into its proper ecological context. I LOVE that!

PS. Bill Cooper's other very well-known book was 'The Birds of Paradise and Bower Birds' which, I believe, was published before 'Parrots of the World'. If someone gave me a copy of the Birds of Paradise book, I'd be very happy, but it isn't quite as desirable to me as the Parrots one (for obvious reasons). Still can't believe my great luck!

 

[JerseyWendy]

YAYYYY Trish!!! I am SO happy for you!

Now I just did a simple Google Image Search for "Bill Cooper Paintings", and my jaw dropped to the floor. :11: Holy smokes, he is incredible (that's actually an understatement) :32:

 

[Allee]

Congratulations, Trish! Not only is William Cooper's artwork amazing, but so is his history. I want to read more. I think I'll start with Penny Olson's, 'An Eye For Nature-The Life and Art of William T. Cooper. Thank you for sharing your good fortune. I know Matt is thrilled with your new book.

 

[Betrisher]

I found these:

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9jZckFqUwU"]Bill Cooper 1 of 2 - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZFIM5uDt28"]Bill Cooper 2 of 2 - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KJnkOH2iuA"]WILLIAM . T . COOPER - 1934 - AUSTRALIAN PAINTER - A C - - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Allee]

Lovely videos! My flock enjoyed them too!

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

Wonderful! Now I have a new addition to my wish list...Zilla and I enjoyed the videos!

 

[Anansi]

Thank you for introducing me to Bill Cooper, Trish! His rendering of birds is breathtaking! And drawing them even as they jump about is nothing short of amazing!