• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

JTMB's Bird Art (1 Viewer)

Here are the next five species sketches from 2012 sightings (this puts me at 33 out of 286...at least I'm over 10% of the way there - :-O). The birds are Mallard, Tundra Swan, Common Raven, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and American Kestrel. These were all done as pencil sketches, followed by gouache.

0033-G15-MallardSketch-Dec,12.jpg0035-G15-TundraSwanSketches-Dec,12.jpg0036-G15-CommonRavenSketches-Dec,12.jpg0039-G15-RubyCrownedKinglets - sketches.jpg0041-G15-AmericanKestrelSketch-Dec,12.jpg
 
WOW - is that you back, John??!!! Fabulous re-entry to the cellar, mate. Fine drawings and a nice splash of colour, but mostly impressed, as ever, by your expansive knowledge and enthusiasm for the sport. Welcome back!
Nice belty, too . . .
 
Hi Tim!

Yep, I'm back, hopefully to stay this time without any long breaks. Until this project (all 2012 bird species seen are sketched) is done, it looks like my bird art is going to emphasize quantity over quality for some time. But I am finding that sketching so many species quickly is definitely helping me to get shapes down better, at least from my perspective. My other painting time has been spent on landscapes in oil - a few examples follow. The first two are quick and small studies (6x8 inch). The third is an 8x10 plein air study I did at a mountain pond near my house during the summer. The fourth is a 16x20 studio piece that is nearing completion, with a few changes needed that I'm hoping to get to today until I call it done. Lots to learn about landscapes as well, of course. The (indirect) bird connection is that the studio painting is of a marsh in SE Arizona (mostly a desert otherwise) in which 30,000 Sandhill Cranes winter each year.

107-0476-EasternSierra6x8-Dec,12.jpg0024-G15-SalmonRiverEstuary-Dec,12.jpg107-0264-GoldCreekPondPleinAir-Aug7,12.jpg0031-G15-SandhillMarsh-Dec,12.jpg
 
Thanks Oskar, Mike, Arthur, Ken and Matty!

I've spent most of my serious painting time on landscapes, and I think they have taken a step or two forward in the last year. But, I have so far to go to paint like I want to be able to do. At least I can see progress, and my interest and drive to continue improving are strong. I've also been taking to heart the 'don't let your paintings be too precious' mantra that one of my landscape painting idols drums into his students. In fact, the last painting of the set I showed here is sitting on the easel ready to be completely repainted, despite the fact that I think it is one of the better paintings I've done so far. I took it to an instructor and we did a detailed critique on it and I came away convinced that it could be much better. Here's hoping...!
 
Here are the next 6 species as I work my way through 2012 bird species seen (soon I'll have done the species I saw just on January 1st - long way to go yet!). The first page is Brewer's Blackbird and Merlin, page 2 is Brown Creeper and Red-breasted Nuthatch, and the final page is Steller's Jay and Double-crested Cormorant. All were started as pencil sketches, then color was added either with gouache or Pitt brush pens. I think a couple of these are pretty poorly done, even for quick sketches which all of the 2012 species seen are going to be at least initially.

0042-G15-BrewersBlackbird+Merlin-Dec,12.jpg0045-G15-BrownCreeper+RBNuthatch-Dec,12.jpg0047-G15-StellersJay+Double-crestedCormorant-Dec,12.jpg
 
It would be lovely to be able to see through your journal in person... great sketches, and those landscapes are so fine!
 
Love the whole project, the creeper jumped out at me for some reason. Big thumbs up for the landscapes too, en plein air is so much fun.

Mike
 
Thanks Bigshent, Jenny, Mike and Gaby!

Here are the next six species I've finished. I'm doing all the sketches in this project pretty quickly, so I kind of shudder a bit when I look at some of them compared to what I could (hopefully) do with more time. But, I do think that working through all the species seen in 2012 will benefit my sketching and drawing skills.

Merry Christmas to everyone!

0051-G15-PurpleFinch+CommonMerganser-Dec,12.jpg0053-G15-Golden-crownedSparrow+WesternMeadowlark-Dec,12.jpg0055-G15-Short-earedOwl+PineSiskin-Dec,12.jpg
 
Need to go back(over and over I suspect!)to truly get ALL the I can out these last works..GREAT ART,GREAT BIRDING,..the landscapes too..We really enjoyed them!(showed them to my wife,an award winning sculptor,hope you dont mind)

What I am really enjoying is the way you combine looseness and precision..also the combination of media ,,pencil,watercolor,marker...so much Fun to see and obviously to make...You made my day!
 
Last edited:
Just found out we missed a local Eastern Meadowlark on the Wyncote Audubon Christmas Bird Count last weekend, where we did see our Winter Wrens. Who would have thought there'd be one around now?!

Great to see you moving along with these John. It can't help but make you a better bird artist. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
 
The Meadow lark is super but I adore the seo flying out of the page at me!

It's an ambitious project John and you seem to be progressing steadily, well done!

Mike
 
Warning! This thread is more than 8 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top