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Drawings from Catherine Hamilton (1 Viewer)

Once again I am transported by yet another incredible talent!

There is so much on this wonderful Wildlife Art thread (and so many links!) that I just had a good look at your art. Then had to look again to read your dense lyrical prose.

A delight on all counts. Thanks for coming along to BF, Catherine. You're in great company here.
 
Between a few projects, and running around for shorebirds, I have been offline more than usual, but I thought I would post an in-progress study (with detail) that I am working on of Limnodromus griseus subspecies - more towards scientific illustration than my usual work, but proving invaluable nonetheless...

It would be nice to hear of others' experiences of working with skins? This is my first foray...

Cheers,
Catherine
 

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Skins.....hmmmmm! Fun fun fun! I work with them alot when doing fieldguide illustrations. They are an invaluable resource and great for in-depth study of plumage colouration, although the bare parts tend to fade over time. Well preserved skins are great but unfortunately quite a few of them have seen better days....! I must admit I do find it morbidly fascinating and a little bit depressing going through the museum trays...
 
birdboybowley said:
Skins.....hmmmmm! Fun fun fun! I work with them alot when doing fieldguide illustrations. They are an invaluable resource and great for in-depth study of plumage colouration, although the bare parts tend to fade over time. Well preserved skins are great but unfortunately quite a few of them have seen better days....! I must admit I do find it morbidly fascinating and a little bit depressing going through the museum trays...
Click to expand...
Glad you said that 'cos I'm just doing the index for the 'book' and there are a few keywords in here ;)
Hi Catherine - you are doing some beautiful studies here and, as you most certainly know, are following a strong line of tradition, the source of which is centuries old. Some of the most beautiful of the type can be seen in the renderings of one CF Tunnicliffe.
Have you any more? I'd love to see them.
 
Hee hee, you two ;) - I'll look up Tunnicliffe - another friend suggested the same - it's really cool to have a whole new world of art open up for me, along these lines...um, no pun intended.
 
these still have an artistic bent, much more than the usual "scientific" illustrations...something extra for sure..
 
timwootton said:
Glad you said that 'cos I'm just doing the index for the 'book' and there are a few keywords in here ;)
Hi Catherine - you are doing some beautiful studies here and, as you most certainly know, are following a strong line of tradition, the source of which is centuries old. Some of the most beautiful of the type can be seen in the renderings of one CF Tunnicliffe.
Have you any more? I'd love to see them.
Click to expand...

Hi Tim -

I have a rows of sketchbooks filled with drawings and writings - a lot of them similar to this sort of composing on the page, but not necessarily of birds per se...

It is a little eerie to come into this from a sideways angle and only then discover a lot of people and a deep tradition of thinking along similar threads. Not that I'm a complete historical idiot, of course, I have degrees in art, but my concentrations were in painting and contemporary art and, as we all well know, inquiries along wildlife paths are treated with something less than respect and support, to put it mildly, in the contemporary art fields. At least here in the States, that is.

Going down a rabbit hole, I am ;)
 
Skins AARRRRRHHHH .... yes they can be the most helpfull of things and the most frustrating of things. Invaluable yet as mentioned they are often in poor condition and a sad relic of what was once a beautiful example of a particular species!! however with any illustration project an invaluable source of information. nothing can beat the living thing!
 
Birdspot said:
It is a little eerie to come into this from a sideways angle and only then discover a lot of people and a deep tradition of thinking along similar threads. Not that I'm a complete historical idiot, of course, I have degrees in art, but my concentrations were in painting and contemporary art and, as we all well know, inquiries along wildlife paths are treated with something less than respect and support, to put it mildly, in the contemporary art fields. At least here in the States, that is.

Going down a rabbit hole, I am ;)
Click to expand...

Catherine,

I've been down a similar rabbit hole for 10-15 years. My background is painting and contemporary art. But I got really bored with that world about 15 years ago. Eventually spent a couple of years just drawing garden insects under a microscope then started on trying to combine birds and 'art' four or five years ago. But I didn't like much 'wildlife art' that I saw. So I wasn't really a contemporary artist, nor was I a wildlife artist. Then I found this forum and found out I actually was/am a wildlife artist. It was and still is a breath of fresh air.
 
It's no mean feat to make skins look lively in a drawing but you've managed it here. Great stuff and fascinating to be able to study a creature so closely.

Mike
 
Hi Catherine, I really like your style, when I saw your artworks I just thought: 'wow! that's what I was looking for for a long time!'
Looking forward to see more
 
Thanks everyone for feedback...thought I would post another from this week - still on a shorebird study kick:
 

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always miraculous work...and just a pleasure to see each one...

your watercolor is so loose and soft yet rich in color too...do you wet the paper and use glazes to do that, what kind of brush and paper do you use and do you sketch first?
 
Hi Colleen -

That scan and jpeg look a little washed out here, and missing a little. I think I'll try to post details now, which might show the technique a bit better. I don't have any set procedures, but in this case I did some very quick ink sketches and then worked in watercolor - sometimes wet into small wet areas, sometimes dry brush...I work on a variety of watercolor papers (I think this one is good old Arches 140 cold press) or Rives BFK printmaking paper. Most of my drawings are on the Rives, which can be fussy and taciturn and I would only recommend it for watercolor to the masochistic ;)

The brushes are Winsor Newtown Series 7 travel brushes, which I bought eons ago, and would love to find again - does anyone know if they are still available?
 

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Hi Catherine,

I'm brand new here myself (joined last year but never posted). I am in awe of your work - absolutely wonderful. I'm new to art, and even newer to bird art, so this forum is going to be a gold mine for me. There are a number of fantastic bird artists here.
 
Miraculous is the word! It's as if the birds are finding new life - pooling from the paper into more solid form. I imagine their spirit rising to life as your brush dips onto the pond and exchanges Chi with you.
Your masterly control in getting the wet on wet to find individual feather detail is a wonder to me. (I've tried it so I know how impossible it is - for me at least!)
 
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