[resparza]

Hi everyone. I just joined BirdForum and I'm having a lot of fun looking at everyone's gorgeous art, it's very inspiring!

I do some drawing and painting but not as often as I'd like to do it. I promise I'll post some of that in the near future.

In the meantime I chose the attached image as the first example of my bird/wildlife art I made it for a christmas celebration a few years ago, and we were supposed to break it in the middle of the party. At the end nobody dared to break it, so it stayed as a home decoration item until the following christmas.

Cheers!

Rodrigo

[timwootton]

Hi Rodrigo - welcome to Birdforum!!! I love this and I can see why no-one dare break it up (how could they!?). Look forward to seeing more of your work.

[resparza]

Thanks Tim! By the way I just bought your book and I'm learning a lot from it. Soon I shall be putting the advice in it into practice :)

I was looking around and I realised I don't have any of my drawings/paintings. I've given them all as presents for friends and relatives all over the world.

Anyhow, I found a copy of a local bird guide from Western Mexico that published some drawings I made about ten years ago, when I was a biology student.

I don't like them so much anymore because most of them are anatomically incorrect (some have very surreal poses, wrong proportions, the toes/talons are a disgrace, etc.). I was basically using the "to circles" approach to drawing them and didn't know any better, I guess. Nonetheless I still like [some of] them in a "ten years ago" kind of way. I attached some selected images from that book (sorry about the quality of the pictures; I just took them directly from the book). All of them are prismacolor pencil drawings on some kind of texture-free paper whose specs I can't even remember anymore.

I'll put some more contemporary works later on. Since I'm still a total amateur with no artistic formation whatsoever, any feedback would be greatly apreciated :)

-Rodrigo

[resparza]

More of those old bird illustrations...

[resparza]

... and a couple more

[timwootton]

Hey-hey, now there's an interesting bunch, for sure. Some very accomplished illustrations here, many thanks for posting them. Lovely work.

[solitaryVSong]

Originally Posted by timwootton

Hey-hey, now there's an interesting bunch, for sure. Some very accomplished illustrations here, many thanks for posting them. Lovely work.

Nice to see them Rodrigo. An interesting collection as Tim says, and many of them look familiar. Soon our Baltimore Orioles may be passing your way.

Welcome to the forum and hope to see some new work soon.

[resparza]

Thank you guys! I'll be posting some newer works as soon as I can.

Ken, At the moment I'm living in Northern Finland so I probably won't get any of your Baltimore orioles... but if you send some this way, you'll make a couple of hundred birders very happy :)

-Rodrigo

[solitaryVSong]

Originally Posted by resparza

Thank you guys! I'll be posting some newer works as soon as I can.

Ken, At the moment I'm living in Northern Finland so I probably won't get any of your Baltimore orioles... but if you send some this way, you'll make a couple of hundred birders very happy :)

-Rodrigo

I'll do what I can Rodrigo! Seems there are all sorts of birding surprises these days, though I have to admit Baltimore Orioles in Finland may be a stretch.

[ed keeble]

Welcome aboard- there's a classic style to these images.

[phil baber]

Rodrigo...welcome!

These are beautiful works. Can't wait to see your latest wonders!

[nickderry]

glad to have you on board, these are very accomplished illustrations, look forward to seeing more.

[RussB]

Hi Rodrigo,
Ok, some of the proportions may be a bit 'stiff' but the coloured pencil technique you've deployed is bloody excellent. Imagine how good they'd look like in more interesting, albeit more difficult, poses!

Let's see some more, sir!

Russ

[Lykos]

warm welcome...and I see beautiful paintings here

[resparza]

Hello. I'm back to this thread after I abandoned it for a while. I have been on a holiday in central Austria. Although it was not strictly a birdwatching trip, I got to see some cool birds and other creatures, including some lifers

Now I need to get my bird drawing restarted. I just made a few pencil sketches using photos I took during my trip as a reference. I realised I'm not a good sketcher, but I guess I just need to practice every day to get better... Quite often I wish I had chosen art instead of science as a career.

So here they are. Soon I'll get inspired enough to use some of those birds in a composition for a nicer project.

[resparza]

...and also a marmot and a blue tit who came earlier to my new bird feeder. I shall practice drawing birds from life with these garden birds.

[timwootton]

Fine drawings, Rodrigo. The first thing is to be able to use a pencil - and you can certanly use a pencil!!! These are really good drawings - I'm a fan of the marmot. Great stuff.

[resparza]

Thanks Tim! I still have the feeling that some of my drawings are not "quite right", but i'm confident i'll be able to improve with more practice

[Lykos]

wow...

[solitaryVSong]

Originally Posted by resparza

Quite often I wish I had chosen art instead of science as a career.

Not that I followed this path but I think a number of people have. The newest I read about just the last few days is James Coe who was the Master Artist at Birds in Art this year. I just got the catalog and it mentions how he started off with a degree in Biology from Harvard, did a number of scientific field trips and then decided to go to art school for an MFA. Since then he's both illustrated field guides and done numerous paintings, some of which are beautiful landscapes with the birds well hidden in them. In any case he's a good example of switching careers, at least if what I read is wholly accurate.

Very nice sketches as Tim says. Keep at it!

[resparza]

Originally Posted by solitaryVSong

Not that I followed this path but I think a number of people have. The newest I read about just the last few days is James Coe who was the Master Artist at Birds in Art this year. I just got the catalog and it mentions how he started off with a degree in Biology from Harvard, did a number of scientific field trips and then decided to go to art school for an MFA. Since then he's both illustrated field guides and done numerous paintings, some of which are beautiful landscapes with the birds well hidden in them. In any case he's a good example of switching careers, at least if what I read is wholly accurate.!

Actually science work is not to bad. As an ornithologist/mammalogist I have been lucky to work in beautiful corners of the earth in close contact with awesome creatures. The problem is that I have an increasing feeling that my academic career is getting to the point where I'm doing more administrative work and less field work, and I don't like that feeling.

Whether art will ever be a professional activity for me or not, I'm having fun playing with pencils and paints. It's relaxing, I get to work in the field, and often I create something I feel proud of

Originally Posted by solitaryVSong

Very nice sketches as Tim says. Keep at it!

Thanks! Keeping at it is my plan! Im just trying to make it a daily activity and not something I do every couple of months (which has been the case in the last 5 years or so).

Now I better take the sketchbook and binoculars to the local lake. The weather is great, the autum leaves are looking good, and many birds should be there on their way south.

[colleenc]

sketching shows lots of promise, keep it up

[resparza]

Thanks Coleen!

I just came back from my morning twitch. Yesterday I bought a pocket watercolour set and decided to try it today. This is my first field sketch with watercolour wash ever! I made the breast of the goosander too gray because I tried to put some value, but anyway I think I like the result.

I normally work with colour pencils, pastels and sometimes acrylics but I always thought watercolours were intimidating. I think I'm converted now

I still have a lot to learn... but hey, this is so much fun!

[mattybohan]

nice work all around!

[colleenc]

good job on that first sketch, you are starting out far up the ladder