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JTMB's Bird Art (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter JTMB
- Start date
ARTHUR BISHOP
Well-known member
love that owl john
RussB
Going for Gold
Very nice owl there John. I take it's Great Grey? The subtle plumage patterns look very convincing, well done! Personally, the eyes seem a tad too orange to me. Not that I've ever seen such a stonking bird in the wild! I'm sure a bit of yellow goache would lighten them up a bit, though. To make the bird stand out, perhaps you could just suggest a background of trees with a bit of 'wet in wet', but keep things very, very subtle.
Don't ruin good work, though. Please continue to consult the artists on here. It might sound like I know what I'm talking about!
Russ
Don't ruin good work, though. Please continue to consult the artists on here. It might sound like I know what I'm talking about!
Russ
JTMB
Well-known member
Back Again - after a long absence
Hi folks,
I've been away from this forum for WAY too long and had to hop back on after a busy summer which included a six-week across-and-back-the-USA road trip during which I added 46 life birds to my list by visiting several parts of the country in which I had never birded.
I really am anxious to go through all the threads here and catch up with what everyone has been doing.
Most of my time has been spent on landscapes (mostly in oil) but I have still been sketching birds (mostly from references, some from life) and plan on doing much more of that this winter.
The following sketches are from a project I started at the beginning of 2012 and which fell by the wayside, but which I am now dead set on finishing. I decided to start a sketchbook and do a page per species of each species seen during 2012. Since I've seen 286 species this year (with still a chance for a handful more) that will be a big project - especially considering that so far I've done 22 of the species. So, it will carry over in next year, obviously (hopefully not 2014!).
The A4 sketchbook I'm using is from a wonderful premium binder - Stillman & Birn - it is their Epsilon model, which is a plate finish so it isn't meant for water-based media although I'm adding watercolor to some of the pieces anyway. It's great for dry media, so many of the sketches are in Pitt brush pens, and pencil. The Pitt brush pens I love, but even with a wide selection of colors, it's tough to match colors very closely, so bear that in mind.
Anyway, here are some of those sketches.
Hi folks,
I've been away from this forum for WAY too long and had to hop back on after a busy summer which included a six-week across-and-back-the-USA road trip during which I added 46 life birds to my list by visiting several parts of the country in which I had never birded.
I really am anxious to go through all the threads here and catch up with what everyone has been doing.
Most of my time has been spent on landscapes (mostly in oil) but I have still been sketching birds (mostly from references, some from life) and plan on doing much more of that this winter.
The following sketches are from a project I started at the beginning of 2012 and which fell by the wayside, but which I am now dead set on finishing. I decided to start a sketchbook and do a page per species of each species seen during 2012. Since I've seen 286 species this year (with still a chance for a handful more) that will be a big project - especially considering that so far I've done 22 of the species. So, it will carry over in next year, obviously (hopefully not 2014!).
The A4 sketchbook I'm using is from a wonderful premium binder - Stillman & Birn - it is their Epsilon model, which is a plate finish so it isn't meant for water-based media although I'm adding watercolor to some of the pieces anyway. It's great for dry media, so many of the sketches are in Pitt brush pens, and pencil. The Pitt brush pens I love, but even with a wide selection of colors, it's tough to match colors very closely, so bear that in mind.
Anyway, here are some of those sketches.
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solitaryVSong
Well-known member
Nice to see you back John and with quite a collection of work.
mattybohan
Well-known member
these are looking nice John!
Strandman
Well-known member
what a great narrative quality to this collection (and the previous- I remember the fishing diary too)
I do like images that reflect a birding or travelling life, rather than just being paintings
JTMB
Well-known member
Thanks Alan, Ken, Bigshent, Gaby, Matty and Ed! It's good to be back to the forum. Here are some more sketches adding a few more species to the group. These are quick sketches, and some are pretty rough, but I decided to post everything I'm doing during the project.
The first page here is Chestnut-backed Chickadees. We have four species of chickadees in our state (Black-capped, Chestnut-backed, Mountain and Boreal) and the Chestnut-backed is probably my favorite. They prefer coniferous forests. The next is Ruby-crowned Kinglets. The watercolor is really rough on the top bird - I attempted it quickly while watching TV and got a predictable (bad) result. This paper is not specifically watercolor paper either. The third page is Belted Kingfisher, a favorite species of mine. The kingfisher is done with an initial pencil drawing, then adding Pitt brush pens for the color washes. The final page is our tiny forest wren - the Pacific Wren - which is full of attitude despite its diminuitive size. I was pleased with the drawing and some of the watercolor with this page. The original drawing was pencil.
The first page here is Chestnut-backed Chickadees. We have four species of chickadees in our state (Black-capped, Chestnut-backed, Mountain and Boreal) and the Chestnut-backed is probably my favorite. They prefer coniferous forests. The next is Ruby-crowned Kinglets. The watercolor is really rough on the top bird - I attempted it quickly while watching TV and got a predictable (bad) result. This paper is not specifically watercolor paper either. The third page is Belted Kingfisher, a favorite species of mine. The kingfisher is done with an initial pencil drawing, then adding Pitt brush pens for the color washes. The final page is our tiny forest wren - the Pacific Wren - which is full of attitude despite its diminuitive size. I was pleased with the drawing and some of the watercolor with this page. The original drawing was pencil.
solitaryVSong
Well-known member
Speaking of that, and something I've mentioned on my own thread, I would treat myself to Michael Warren's American Birding Sketchbook for Christmas. I'm just going through it for the 3rd time since receiving it a few weeks ago. It's a wonderful birding travelogue that has at least a couple pages for each US state.
To me one of the hardest parts of rendering birds is deciding on background or environment. All his birds are in believable environments and to me are a lesson in how to portray birds as something more than just portraits in blank space. Outside of that though it really is like a travelogue and it's great fun to pick out the birds you recognize in each state, etc., etc. A cheap way to bird the US! And learn something about portraying them at the same time.
JTMB
Well-known member
Thanks, Ken. I'll have to check out Warren's book - I had not heard about it before.
The main purpose of this project of mine is to provide a somewhat structured means to force a lot of drawing of birds in a short period of time - my drawing skills are not where I would like them to be yet (whose is? :-O) and this should help get better/quicker at proportions and some details. A second reason, of course, is to document all the birds I saw in 2012 as a reference when I'm old(er), crotchety and unable to get out to bird like I once was. I do want to try to do some more complete paintings or drawings with backgrounds and more considered compositions, especially in oil, which has become my primary medium for studio work and plein air studies.
The main purpose of this project of mine is to provide a somewhat structured means to force a lot of drawing of birds in a short period of time - my drawing skills are not where I would like them to be yet (whose is? :-O) and this should help get better/quicker at proportions and some details. A second reason, of course, is to document all the birds I saw in 2012 as a reference when I'm old(er), crotchety and unable to get out to bird like I once was. I do want to try to do some more complete paintings or drawings with backgrounds and more considered compositions, especially in oil, which has become my primary medium for studio work and plein air studies.
JTMB
Well-known member
Here are three more quick species sketches - pencil and gouache, A4 Stillman & Birn sketchbook. The first page is Downy Woodpecker, our smallest local woodpecker. Second is Bewick's Wren, which along with Pacific Wren is common on the west side of the Cascade Mtns. in our state. Finally is a Great Blue Heron.
