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revivingKensArt (1 Viewer)

solitaryVSong

Well-known member
Hi,

I've been led to this site and specifically this forum by Jo, after commenting on my own blog about how much I liked the work of Nick Derry, which I just discovered recently. So for the last few days I've been poking around here. What a pleasure it's been seeing so much good art!

Oddly enough the title of my last blog post was 'Wildlife Art and Me', where I mentioned how surprised I was at not liking much 'wildlife art' once I turned from years of abstract work to bird art about three years ago. Nick's work and the work of others I've been discovering here over the last few days has been a revelation. There really is good, lively wildlife art being done. I hope to see a whole lot more of it, and maybe create some over the coming weeks and years. I can't tell you how refreshing it is.

Without further ado I'm going to include my last work, assuming I don't have any troubles with attachments. I've been tentatively working my way around bird art for the last three years. I'm fully convinced of the need to work from life but most of my work is based on photos. When I have more time, or maybe just through the sheer example of this forum, I'll force myself to work from life.

In any case here are a number of versions of a Snowy Egret done in watercolor, based on one seen at 'The Meadows' at Cape May, NJ in April, 2009.

Ken
 

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Thanks Arthur,

I certainly hope you WILL see a lot more of my work. I can't think of a better impetus to work than the art I'm seeing here.

Ken
 
Good to have you aboard Ken. This egret piece has much to commend it; I particluarly like the vibrant colours. The reds of the earth work really well with the deep blues of the water.
And for inspiration - you could go a long, long way and not find the like of Mr Derry.
 
Hi Ken, welcome to the best bit of BF. I had a peek at your website, the charcoal work is particularly nice, we certainly need to see more of that here.
I think Nick inspires all of us on here!

Mike
 
Good to have you aboard Ken. This egret piece has much to commend it; I particluarly like the vibrant colours. The reds of the earth work really well with the deep blues of the water.
And for inspiration - you could go a long, long way and not find the like of Mr Derry.


Thanks so much Tim. I really am happy to be aboard. I feel a bit like I've finally found the right place for myself.

As for inspiration I have to say your 5 watercolors from 'being stuck in the studio' last week are an inspiration themselves.
 
Hi Ken, welcome to the best bit of BF. I had a peek at your website, the charcoal work is particularly nice, we certainly need to see more of that here.
I think Nick inspires all of us on here!

Mike

Hi Woody,

Thanks for the welcome!

You know I'm far, far more comfortable with charcoal than with watercolor. But I got it in my head that I liked watercolor, especially after reading 'Drawing Birds' about three years ago, and I just have had this nagging desire to become better at it. There are times though when I say 'Enough! Back to something I know like charcoal!'
 
Hi Ken, welcome to Birdforum, very glad to have you on board here, and very pleased to hear that you find my work inspiring. I've got to say the same of your work - I love the colours and the bold nature of what you do - had a quick look at your site, and I'll certainly be going back for more!

and don't wait to work from life - just dive in and do it - usually the thing that stops us working how we would like to is the fear that it won't work out right - dive in with the knowledge that it will NEVER be as you hoped or expected, but will ALWAYS be surprising and rewarding (and often incredibly frustrating!)
 
Hi Ken, welcome to Birdforum, very glad to have you on board here, and very pleased to hear that you find my work inspiring. I've got to say the same of your work - I love the colours and the bold nature of what you do - had a quick look at your site, and I'll certainly be going back for more!

and don't wait to work from life - just dive in and do it - usually the thing that stops us working how we would like to is the fear that it won't work out right - dive in with the knowledge that it will NEVER be as you hoped or expected, but will ALWAYS be surprising and rewarding (and often incredibly frustrating!)

Thanks much Nick,

I have to thank JoMo for pointing me to this forum and your work here. And I'm enjoying seeing everyone's work. It's going to take a good, long while to work my way through it. What a great collection of good art and artists.

As far as 'waiting to work from life' there couldn't be a better inspiration than your work. I think this weekend I shall start. No more waiting around!!
 
Thanks much Nick,

I have to thank JoMo for pointing me to this forum and your work here. And I'm enjoying seeing everyone's work. It's going to take a good, long while to work my way through it. What a great collection of good art and artists.

As far as 'waiting to work from life' there couldn't be a better inspiration than your work. I think this weekend I shall start. No more waiting around!!

excellent to hear it, in that case, I'll get the paints out too - been lacking a little in inspiration recently, but I think it's time to get back into the studio!
 
Hey, Ken! Glad to see you turn up here, and welcome! Both feet, man, and looking forward to the results.
 
Well I did force myself to work from life today. We've had a Ruby-throated Hummingbird hanging around our backyard for two weeks so I decided to start here and try to get some sketches of it. Not the best idea. He wasn't here much and when he was he was up high and backlit so he wasn't much more than a silhouette.

But there were insects and flowers around so I drew them while waiting for a hummer reappearance. The one time I thought I had a shot a robin shot in and landed on tomato cage and scared him off. Then the robin moved so even his sketch is a composite view.

This isn't jumping in with 'both feet' as JoMo suggests. I know that two feet is exactly the right prescription. But for today this will have to d0;).
 

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Just catching up with the recent burst of activity on the forum- I really like the richness of colour in the Snowy Egret, background and all.
 
You may not call it both feet, Ken, but you're out there with your subject matter, and that's exactly where you need to be. That they just won't stay still never ceases to be frustrating, but it DOES get easier, I promise! (Personally, I find I get bored when they don't move -- where's the fun in that? |:d|)

Distant and silhouetted can be a good thing, since it keeps you from getting bogged down in details (the biggest hurdle to quick drawing). The hummer below the perched robin is particuarly good.
 
I don't plan to keep posting every little thing I do on a daily basis. But since I vowed that I would start working from life I did want to post today's evidence.

I convinced my wife to combine a birding and sketching trip so we spent 2 1/2 hours at Morris Arboretum in Philadelphia. We got very good looks at a Green Heron, and also a number of shorebirds. I was surprised to find so many species(5).

The sketches include the Green Heron, many Kildeer, and one shorebird that I finally puzzled out to be a female Pectoral Sandpiper. I'm not an expert on shorebirds but I am improving and I'm pretty sure that I'm right about this id.

The sketches aren't anything special, but they do show I think the sense of life you can get when working from life. I'm hoping that they'll keep getting better as I continue to work.
 

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Seems like we have a bit of a run of egrets and herons on the art forum recently!! I totally agree with you on your assessment of the field sketches - it's obvious you've observed them well producing some very convincing drawings.

Looking at your fieldnotes of the wader above the Kildeer, from what I can read and from what you've drawn, I suspect it's more likely a juvenile Pec Sand - they show more dark contrasting mantle feathers made so by light 'v' shaped tramlines down the scapulars, the under chin is paler and they have a slightly more prominent supercillium. (There's little difference between the male and female adults)
 
Seems like we have a bit of a run of egrets and herons on the art forum recently!! I totally agree with you on your assessment of the field sketches - it's obvious you've observed them well producing some very convincing drawings.

Looking at your fieldnotes of the wader above the Kildeer, from what I can read and from what you've drawn, I suspect it's more likely a juvenile Pec Sand - they show more dark contrasting mantle feathers made so by light 'v' shaped tramlines down the scapulars, the under chin is paler and they have a slightly more prominent supercillium. (There's little difference between the male and female adults)

Hi Deborah,

First I should say how much I've enjoyed your recent egret, heron, ibis and pelican work! And thanks for the thoughts on the Pectoral.

I'm really a beginning birder when it comes to shorebirds. I'm just about positive it's a pectoral due to the clean line where streaking ends on breast. But I wasn't sure about juvenile or female. I finally went with female because 'The Shorebird Guide' says that they can be so much smaller than the males and they start to migrate in mid-July. There was a supercilium and the scapular feathers did have a very strong contrasting pattern. So the feathers made me think it had to be juvenile as you say.

It just seemed so small compared to a nearby Kildeer, and it seemed early for migrating juveniles, at least according to my reading. I don't have enough personal experience to say when they normally migrate around here. So it could very well be a juvenile as you say. I'm happy to go with that until sometimes steps up and argues for female!

Ken
 
way to go Ken, it will get better, at least it has for me, it's taken me about 2 months to get some chops for the live thing, but have to say I'm hooked for good, it's so exciting and always something new. I take photos too in case I want to do a more complete work.
 
Nice going Ken, you can easily see the way you've been exploring the lines and homing in on the final shapes. It does get somewhat easier as you go but the excitement and the challenge of working direct from the living bird never changes.

Mike
 
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