Artist Crafts Lifelike Paper Portraits of Parrots To Shine a Light on Threats Faced by Colorful Birds

Red-tailed black cockatoo

Parrots are known for being cheerful and colorful birds with a chatty side. To spotlight these beautiful birds and the many visually arresting hues they come in, Nayan Shrimal and Venus Bird from The Paper Ark have launched The Parrot Project, in which they create lifelike paper portraits in their likeness for a good cause.

“This series is a tribute to these amazing birds and their contribution to our ecosystem,” the artists tell My Modern Met. To them, parrots are not just beautiful birds that have inspired them creatively, but also a species that has long been subjected to exploitation. According to the IUCN Red List, almost a third of the world’s parrot species is under threat of extinction.

“Sadly, many parrot species are threatened and some are near to extinction,” Shrimal and Bird reiterate. “They are suffering a lot due to deforestation and pet trade and we wanted to shed light on the importance of these species in our ecosystem through our art.”

To create these realistic pieces, the pair begins by picking a species from their collection of bird books. Once they settle on a parrot, they carry out some online research to get all the information needed for a faithful depiction. “We collect multiple photographs from the internet and watch many documentaries to understand their behavior and habitat,” the artists share. “Each species is created keeping in mind their habitat so each artwork in this series shows the bird perched on the tree/plant which is either their favorite food or their roosting tree.”

Each bird is made up of tiny paper bits, put together following a sketch previously made by the team. The pair also delicately paints each piece to truly capture the details that make the species so unique, such as the yellow spots on the head of the red-tailed black cockatoo or the ombre feathers of the Scarlet Macaw.

“The best part about working with paper is its versatility as a material which allows it to be moulded in any desired shape,” they say. The result is astounding—anyone could easily mistake these artworks for cutout photographs of each creature.

The detailed portraits are now available for sale on The Paper Ark’s website, with the artists donating 10% from each sale towards parrot conservation. “Our primary purpose with this series is to raise awareness about these beautiful birds and their importance in our ecosystem and the threats they are facing due to human activities,” Shrimal and Bird explain. “We want our audience to come together and take steps to conserve this species.”

To stay up to date with their paper creations, you can follow The Paper Ark on Instagram.

Nayan Shrimal and Venus Bird from The Paper Ark have launched The Parrot Project, in which they create lifelike paper portraits of these beautiful birds for a good cause.

Spix Macaw

Scarlet Macaw

“They are suffering a lot due to deforestation and pet trade and we wanted to shed light on the importance of these species in our ecosystem through our art.”

Fig Parrot

Hyacinth Macaw

Each bird is made up of tiny paper bits, put together following a sketch previously made by the team.

Blue and gold Macaw

Love Birds

The pair also delicately paints each piece to truly capture the details that make each species so unique.

Hooded Parrot

King Parrot

The result is astounding—anyone could easily mistake these artworks for cutout photographs of each creature.

Rainbow Lorikeet

Budgie

The detailed portraits are now available for sale on The Paper Ark’s website, with the artists donating 10% from each sale towards parrot conservation.

Red-fan parrot

Red and Yellow-crowned amazon

“We want out audience to come together and take steps to conserve this species.”

Kakapo

Kea

The Paper Ark: Website | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by The Paper Ark.

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