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wildlife in graphite (2 Viewers)

Don't worry about the colour - these monochromes are wonderfully evocative renditions bristling with life. I've just had a thought - and, following a little lie-down - wonder if you would consider perhaps just introducing one tiny splot of colour to a drawing like this? I can imagine just the tiniest plip of red on the moorhen's bill (were it in view) could be a delightful touch. Whaddayathink? (I suppose the little girl's red jacket on 'Schindler's List' springs to mind.)
 
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hi tim and thanks for your kind words.ive kinda come full circle with the graphite work,i started with pencil and at the time nobody would touch it and so i introduced colour(watercolour) and learnt to oil paint etc etc.i was never very good with colour so went back to graphite after 5 years of experimentation,i havnt touched colour for 10 years now,i did however try incorporating the two but it wasnt received very well.i think ive become a bit of a purist (or is that pig-headed?) and really love working in black and white.i'm trying nowadays to concentrate a little more on lighting and be a bit more 'arty' and a bit less detail led,and ,so far,i'm really enjoying it.
 
Have to agree. I don't see avocets very often. But when I do they are elegant, not fierce, skinny rhinos. In this pose the bill looks just as menacing a weapon as the horn of a charging rhinoceros - not that I see them all that often either.;)
 
Have to agree. I don't see avocets very often. But when I do they are elegant, not fierce, skinny rhinos. In this pose the bill looks just as menacing a weapon as the horn of a charging rhinoceros - not that I see them all that often either.;)

avocets are notoriously aggressive in my neck of the woods

but I gather that in the US, egrets have learned kung-fu to protect themselves:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wetlanddoc/2553872322/
 
Gorgeous drawings Clive, both the egret and the avo.

Avocets are super aggressive when they have young or eggs to protect. I've watched a whole scrapeful of them pointlessly chasing shelduck youngsters around for ages.

Mike
 
ed and mike,thanks very much for your comments,as a relative newbie birder it's interesting to learn of the avocets behaviour,it did seem a relatively pointless exercise on the behalf of the avocets at the time as the moorhens seemed no threat to the fully grown juveniles,but fascinating to watch,although not a patch on the kung fu egrets,them i gotta see!!
 
The egrets I've watched in the US ,esp the snowys, use the kung fu on each other, more than other birds, I've watched a snowy be chased off by the little avocet, who is way smaller.
 
been away for a while,locked in the studio trying to put together an image of teal from reference material i got following a visit to slimbridge earlier this year.ive finally got enough down for it to be worth posting.ive been trying to work on a smaller scale otherwise this picture would have to have been much bigger and take forever and so instead of going for detail ive tried to re-create the scene observed from the hide.
 

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cheers mark,yes these are a bit dark,lighting a bit tricky at moment as i'm taking photos straight off the board.once ive finished it and had it scanned i'll post a decent shot in the meantime here are the 2 previous images properly scanned
 

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thanks tim,progressed a little further now with all the teal in place,although the smallest female still needs a little work.just got to make a decent fist of the foreground water and reflections to hopefully tie it all in and bring it to life.still having a little trouble with the lighting i'm afraid.
 

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