COLOUR AND AESTHETICS: AN APPRECIATION OF COLOURED BIRDS IN PAINTING

摘要

This paper has focused on the appreciation of colours found in birds as they seek to inspire visual artists in painting with their beautiful outlooks of colours and patterns. Birds also known as Aves according to Grill (2014) are a group of endothermic vertebrates characterized by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart and a strong yet high-weight skeleton. They live worldwide and range in various types and different sizes. Storer (2014) states that colours found among birds are caused by pigments and structure. Colour according to Ocvirk, Stinson et 'al (2006) is the most universally appreciated element that appeals to children and adults instantly. Aesthetics according to Scruton (2014) is the philosophical study of beauty and taste. It is closely related to the philosophy of art, which is concerned with the nature of art and the concepts by which individual works of art are interpreted and evaluated. Colour is one of the most expressive elements because it affects our emotions directly. In recent times artists across the globe comprising European and African Contemporary Nigerian artists have been inspired by birds as their subject matter with much aesthetic beauty found among these wonderful creatures. The paper has also reviewed some of the most beautiful birds across the globe and reviewed paintings of colourful birds by some European and Nigerian Contemporary Artists.