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The Abstract Bird (1 Viewer)

Full of excitement on that Lino Ken. Glad to see your still posting.It seems awfully quiet on the arty threads:-C
 
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Hi Paul mate was thinking same thing very quite,looks like you and me against the rest.Seems like all the high flyers have flown if you get my drift.Keep popping over onto your sites some great work there Paul.
George
 
Full of excitement on that Lino Ken. Glad to see your still posting.It seems awfully quiet on the arty threads:-C

Thanks Paul. Yes it seems extraordinarily quiet here. I was just thinking of that recently and how exciting it used to be. I'm not sure of the reasons but I imagine there are many. Still it's sad to see how quiet it's become.

I'm trying to stay true to my desire to keep most of my work shown here abstract. But it seems in spring, when so many birds are about, I do tend toward more realistic work, at least in my sketches.

So here from yesterday is probably my most developed field sketch ever, a Solitary Sandpiper, Semi-palmated Plover and Least Sandpiper. It's so developed because the birds cooperated more or less and I brought a stool and scope. That let me spend some time comfortably working on this. None of the birds were there at the same time. I just added them as they came along.
 

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:t: great

Thanks Gaby. Here's the newest print: a small, very simple hand-colored linocut of Green Heron with Eastern Pondhawk just far enough away not to have caught his attention. (The paper is actually cream-colored not bright white so the color is off in that respect).
 

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Hi Manuel,

I'm happy to hear that you like the heron and dragonfly linocut. It's starting to be dragonfly season so I'm sure I'll be sneaking a few more into future work. I hate to see bird migration end but at least it's replaced by butterfly and dragonfly season.
 
Can't seem to get away from Green Herons, though these are not adults but three very young birds.

Woodcut. 6x8 inches images alone, Daniel Smith water-soluble relief ink on Shin Torinoko paper. Edition of 32.
 

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Two new multi-block woodcut prints, both based on field sketches: a crouching, hunting Green Heron and a juvenile Ruby-throated Hummingbird perched on the twig of a Canadian Yew in our backyard.
 

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Very very nice! I do some painting/drawing too and I'm not bad at it but couriously I ve concentrated on people so far and not done birdpainting. But I think I will pick that up too ... it is definitely wortz the effort ...

M dP
 
Very very nice! I do some painting/drawing too and I'm not bad at it but couriously I ve concentrated on people so far and not done birdpainting. But I think I will pick that up too ... it is definitely wortz the effort ...

M dP

Thanks Marie. Good luck, and much enjoyment, to you if you do decide to use birds as subjects. The first thing I learned about portraying them is how little I knew about them, even though as a birder I thought I knew them! But getting to know their structure better for artistic purposes has also made me a better birder. So it works out well all the way round.
 
Thanks Marie. Good luck, and much enjoyment, to you if you do decide to use birds as subjects. The first thing I learned about portraying them is how little I knew about them, even though as a birder I thought I knew them! But getting to know their structure better for artistic purposes has also made me a better birder. So it works out well all the way round.

Thanks a lot for your anser, this is a very interesting remarke ... naturally painting will change the way you look at something so as you said it will give you a wider knwoledge too

M dP
 
Lovely work and some!

Lovely work, I like the abstraction which is a nice change from the stunning detail we so often see. I also have done some bird art but am ready to venture outdoors and work from nature plus. I am also considering some abstraction and or keeping it simple.
Ken you obviously have the experience and skills so can you help please. What is your method for obtaining the details required when observing birds in the flesh. I have done some initial work but those birds just will not keep still, sometimes all I get is one line. Then there is the issue of equipment, bins, telescopes camera and so on. Can you advise please. PS I think the T shirt / any shirt is a good idea. Nice work I like the chirping sparrows, very oriental in style.
 
Thanks Pete, Marie,

Pete I forgot to mention scopes on my lengthy reply to your post about sketching kit. I have one that I'm happy with, but I also have a very heavy tripod. And I have woodland birds. If I lived near the coast where I would see more waders I'd probably bring it with me far more often. But it's a great pain to carry through woods and such where I'm rarely likely to use it. So again I keep it simple, sketchbook in my back pocket, ballpoint pen in my front, binoculars and often my light point and shoot camera.

There is one wetland area here where I'll sometimes bring the scope. It's great for sketching shorebirds when they're at the wetlands. But that's only true for 5-10% of my visits. Still you certainly can see detail if a bird cooperates by placing itself in front of your scope!

You might ask why I even care since so much of my work is abstract. I care because I'd still like my work to ring true to those who understand and appreciate birds, even if it doesn't at all look like a photo.
 
Ken thanks for both replies, very helpful. I am doing a abstract of a swan at the moment, it could take some time as I am slow in drg and painting but getting there. will share with you as I progress. Thanks
 
Ken thanks for both replies, very helpful. I am doing a abstract of a swan at the moment, it could take some time as I am slow in drg and painting but getting there. will share with you as I progress. Thanks

Good luck Pete. I've found that combining field sketching with more abstract work in the studio is very rewarding.

As I think I mentioned on your thread I do also take photos. But I find that I almost never want to use them unless I've actually sketched the bird in the field. I think this gives me an entry point to the bird, both in terms of understanding its structure a bit but also having emotional reaction to it and its environment.

Below are two more realistic works, one some ballpoint pen studies of Least Sandpipers based on my photos and, second, a watercolor based on the sketches as well as photos.
 

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love them all Ken

Thanks Arthur. I'm glad to hear from you again. As Ed says I hope that is an indication that all is well with you.

My own presence has been very limited, partially due to the overall quietness of the forum, but also because I want to stick with showing mainly abstract work here rather than every thing that I do.

That said here are the two different versions of a multi-block woodcut that I just finished. Both are based on a field sketch I did of a Gray Catbird poking at walnuts. I assume he was after the nuts themselves and not the striking lime green husk.

Both prints are 7x9 and the image itself is 4x6 inches. I've posted a photo album on my Facebook page that shows some of the steps involved in the process.
 

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