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Recent sketches (3 Viewers)

Thanks for the Morroco links, Phil. I'll check these out. We've got a fair bit bit of gen but I believe Cricket Warbler is way darn sarth, so we'll have to see. Thick-billed Lark, Bald Ibis and Phaeroh Eagle Owl are my most desired birds - If I can get 'em down on paper it would be doubly fantastic. I'm gonna be distracted by he Audoin's Gulls, though!

You've got me thinking about that one, Tim!

Catch you soon guys

Russ
 
Still in 'larid mode' from Morroco. The short time I spent sketching Audouin's gulls certainly made an impact. Anyone for a sketching trip to Southern Spain or Oman?
Ad Lesser black-back and preening Bhg's down at Old Moor RSPB.
I find trying to capture the facial expression and shape of the head and bill on the big gulls, especially when they're facing you, a wonderful challenge. When I think of big gulls I think of Jonsson, David Quinn and Martin Elliot ( I should really stop name-dropping!) and then I think hmmm, these really are a difficult group. As Nick says, one line slightly out and the whole thing can quickly resemble a totally different species!

Any larophiles present?

Russ
 

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Those BHG's are just perfect, they're a real b*gger to get right and you've done it here. Great stuff.

Mike
 
Buzzard's got me going all 'gully' with his splendid rendition of a glauc, and inspired me to stick another larid on. Here's a 2nd W/2nd S Great black-back sketched yesterday.

Russ
 

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Great crested grebe (GCG) is one of my favourite subjects and also a 'bread and butter' species - they're a breeder on my patch most years and I spend a lot of time in the summer sketching them. All angles, loose feathers and infinite postures - a real challenging subject in summer dress. I'd love to capture two in display mode, with heads shaking, ear tufts spread and necks reaching to the sky. These are my first 'benchmark' efforts this summer but anyone know how I can give them crests instead of antlers?

Russ
 

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Thanks Nick and Colleen. I look at these now and think they're over-done. Nick's comments on the Morroco thread have got me pondering! Some of the best field work I've seen, this forum included, has examples of birds kept to just a few essential lines. I'm trying to be more disciplined in keeping things basic. Here's a curlew sketched yesterday; a bird probing with it's neck turned almost 90 degrees, which I'd like to use for a pen ilustration. No body streaks as I didn't have time to mark them in, so further studies will be needed. I've purposefully tried to keep things basic as possible here. Watch this space for something different!

Russ
 

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Well, here goes: my first foray into wet media. Bhg 'tarted up' with Derwent Graphitone 4B and a small round brush. Aye, some of the darker shadowed light are in the wrong place/ over-done (where's the guy with the cattle prod!) and the cutting edge of the bill's too obvious but I found the 4B and regular dips into clean water fairly easy to control with light strokes, which I think is what you're supposed to do. I do like bold contrasty patterns, though so brushing the tip of the pencil seems to give a nice solid dark tone - like in the primaries. I was surprised how good it seems for subtle tones like the webbed feet, too. All in all I think I could enjoy using these and make them work for me before trying colour. They seem good for gulls, anyway!

Preening lapwing and Reed bunt done on the patch today. I've highlighted the lapp's eye and eye stripes as I wanted to put them in the proper position for an illustration. I think it's more or less in the right position, it this is out then everything seems out. Once again, thanks for the encouargement to try different things.

Russ
 

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some excellent work here, glad you're enjoying experimenting too, at the end of the day, it's all to be enjoyed. Love the stance on the BH Gull.
 
Well, here goes: my first foray into wet media. Bhg 'tarted up' with Derwent Graphitone 4B and a small round brush. Aye, some of the darker shadowed light are in the wrong place/ over-done (where's the guy with the cattle prod!) and the cutting edge of the bill's too obvious but I found the 4B and regular dips into clean water fairly easy to control with light strokes, which I think is what you're supposed to do. I do like bold contrasty patterns, though so brushing the tip of the pencil seems to give a nice solid dark tone - like in the primaries. I was surprised how good it seems for subtle tones like the webbed feet, too. All in all I think I could enjoy using these and make them work for me before trying colour. They seem good for gulls, anyway!

Preening lapwing and Reed bunt done on the patch today. I've highlighted the lapp's eye and eye stripes as I wanted to put them in the proper position for an illustration. I think it's more or less in the right position, it this is out then everything seems out. Once again, thanks for the encouargement to try different things.

Russ

I can see what is to come!

They are starting to live!

Looking at these "wet images" have you noticed that you have given them a more tangible shape? They have form, and begin to exhibit almost a 3Dness?

I feel from this point, that the addition of colour, may, work a revelation upon your good self.

At this point, perhaps, the photocopy advice?

In your own time of course! But form is beginning to appear. In your own way, you are "lifting" them from the page. Giving them "body and form."

Enough said! TAKE YOUR TIME! :t:

Loving watch you explore Russ! ;)
 
I think Phil has encapsulated it perfectly here - indeed there is a more tangible sense of roundness to these latest pieces and it's fine work; I'm still with you though Russ - there's a wonderful crispness and character of its own with the pure linework and this aspect of your drawing must be retained.
 
Thanks for these inspiring comments, guys. As expected the 140 gsm paper in the sketchbooks I use does cockle easily, though. So I'm in a bit of a dillema with what to use If I want to paint in the field. I go through sketchbooks very quickly - one a month sometimes - so only use ones at a fiver a time. I don't really fancy spending loads on expensive paper. I've got a 200gsm pad to try this weekend. One thought is to carry two: my standard WHSmith's polypro A4 and something suited to watercolour. I tend to go cheap because of the amount I use, but I find it's the only way I can get 'into' the bird.

Russ
 
as long as you don't try and put in too much detail with the paint, even thin paper is fine for watercolour, I've got away with sketching on some pretty nasty stuff over the years. Detail in pencil, colour on just as a guide, nothing more.
 
Great to see your coming along in leaps and bounds, for me the preening Lappy is the cream of the recent work, a really terrific sketch Russ. The Black Head show a very good eye for shape and dimension, summer birds are not easy to draw so well and you have nailed this one...
 
as long as you don't try and put in too much detail with the paint, even thin paper is fine for watercolour, I've got away with sketching on some pretty nasty stuff over the years. Detail in pencil, colour on just as a guide, nothing more.

Very good advice I think. I always think that I need to add all sorts of color to my sketches, then I see how simply Nick does it, often just adding enough light color wash to bring the whole drawing beautifully to life.
 
Thanks for the comments, guys. Every time I sketch now I try to hold back the desire to fiddle and over-work things. I've known that it's so easy to over-egg things for a while, but still do it! Tufted ducks are a fave subject of mine, mainly because there's not much else to look at on my local res! Spent an hour with them today while looking for migrants and concentrated on sketching birds front or near-front on - postures that have caused me real problems in the past; I could never, ever get the bill right in proportion to the head due to the foreshortenig illusion. Only now am I begining to sort it out. The two done here are still a bit Donald, Huey, Louis and Duey around the face but they are a big step forward for me. The side-on bird is wetted to try and get three tones of 'black', which worked better than I thought it would.

Is it just me or are face-on and three-quarter view ducks a real pain to get right?

Russ
 

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