There’s the demanding magpie who is always looking for a feed and then there’s the friendly parrot who is always up for a chat.
Tangambalanga artist Milinda Hamilton has captured some of the Australian native birds that visit her garden for her latest artwork on display in The Cube Wodonga lightboxes.
“My creative practice is an eclectic mix of styles and mediums that reflect my deep respect for our natural world,” she said.
“I am especially drawn to the native birds of Australia and their personalities.”
Milinda grew up with an appreciation of birds.
“My mother is a huge lover of birds and she took us on that journey and it’s quite natural for me to (identify birds) but I didn’t realise until well into my adulthood that it’s not something most people know,” she said.
“That love of nature, and particularly birds, is something that has stayed with me and I have a native garden to attract the birds.
“We have king parrots that come in, and one in particular, will come in and land on the rail when he hears our voice and walk along the rail and up to the kitchen window where he will talk at me.”
Mrs Hamilton used photographs of the birds from her garden to create digital illustrations on her iPad after taking a break from acrylic painting during lockdown.
“The magpie in this series is one that comes into our shop and when she’s nesting she comes in looking for a feed. I give her a little supplementary feed with mince and a bird mix,” she said.
“She’s a real character and she will actually come up and eat from out of my hand, she’s very demanding and bossy all the time.”
Mrs Hamilton’s artworks are on display as part of the council’s ephemeral art program that gives local artists a chance to showcase their work to the public.
“It’s exciting to see my own work, especially on this large scale, on the side of a building,” she said.
“There’s not many opportunities like this where you can do something on a smaller scale because a lot of public art opportunities are about large sculptures or big installations and that’s not my area.”
The artworks will be on display until the end of March.
You can find more of Milinda’s artwork on
“I believe art needs to be accessible for people,” she said.
“I’ve created a series of prints and cards from these works that are for sale on Etsy.”
