Peregrine Falcon - from the Patio...!
Even though the image is bad here - taken in shade and I couldn't get the color balance any better, probably because of how light the pencil is - I wanted to share this one because it was a real treat for me. We have a nice 'raptor snag tree' that I think I mentioned earlier that is about 100 or so yards from our back yard that is favored by hawks and the occasional falcon or eagle as a hunting, eating or resting perch. A couple times per year, we usually get a Peregrine (sometimes a pair) in the snag - they are probably the local pair that breeds on the cliffs at Snoqualmie Falls about a mile and a half as the crow flies from our house. (This pair has nested successfully there for the last six years and has become quite famous as the scrape is visible from the viewing area of the falls. Guess where I'll be camped out sketching next year if they're still there.)
Anyway, early this morning I got up and headed down to breakfast and looked at the snag as I always do. There was an adult Peregrine - actually the first we've seen there this year, lower than normal. So, breakfast can wait, grab the scope and sketching supplies and set up on the patio. I had ten to fifteen minutes - a lifetime compared to normal of course - and so did this sketch in HB pencil in the 14x11" sketchbook.
It was a good learning experience. First mistake - because I had the bird there for so long, I kept adding more details to the first sketch. Instead, I should have sketched more poses and worried about the detail later. The bill, my typical bugaboo, isn't too bad, but isn't right either (actually, the whole head is ok for where I'm at but doesn't have the subtleties correct). I know it will come with time, but it's really frustrating knowing that what you've drawn isn't really correct but still not being able to draw it accurately quite yet. :C
When the bird flew off, I brought the sketch in, and added 6B to the eye and hood to get it darker. But rather than continue to refine the sketch, I thought I would just leave it as it was since it was my first Peregrine sketch from life.
Any suggestions and comments will be greatly appreciated.