Toco Toucan Art Print, Signed Limited Edition Watercolor

The toco toucan’s bill is a third of the bird and weighs almost nothing. It is a honeycomb of bone inside, and the orange is not paint but blood vessels close to the surface, which the bird uses to cool itself. I painted the bill in three glazes of orange and let the black of the body run into the paper while it was still wet, so the edge stays soft against the white chest.

Why it is a limited edition

Each print is made in an edition of 150, and I sign and number every copy in pencil under the image. The edition is small so that every copy can be made properly: the file is scanned from the painting itself, printed on museum-quality cotton paper with archival pigment inks, compared with the original in daylight and corrected until the colours match, and only then signed. When the last copy is sold, the edition closes for good.

Paper, inks and sizes

• Archival pigment inks on acid-free, museum-quality watercolor paper
• Framed canvas options in a black wooden frame
• 15 sizes, from 20 x 26 cm to 100 x 140 cm
• Flat in rigid cardboard for small sizes, rolled in a hard tube for large ones

Frame not included unless the option says Framed Canvas. A bright piece for a kitchen, a child’s room or a hallway that needs one strong colour.