• 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.

Mike's conservatory (4 Viewers)

Your sketches are some of my favs too Mike.
Wow, I really loved the plein air landscapes...they made me tear up a bit because I am sitting inside working (well, obviously not 'working' just sitting here waiting for people to walk in off the street to look at art) and it is beautiful outside. I wouldn't even have to be painting, just finding a good spot to sit and enjoy...ahhh, who am I kidding? Your paintings are making me want to get out there and put paint on canvas.
Maybe this job will help me keep up with yous guys.
 
hi mike ,just missed you at marwell on wednesday night,i saw the presentation from the bar and just as i was about to pop over and say hi i got collared and by the time i managed to escape you'd melted away.congrats on the award,it was great to see your image in 'the flesh'
 
clive2604 said:
hi mike ,just missed you at marwell on wednesday night,i saw the presentation from the bar and just as i was about to pop over and say hi i got collared and by the time i managed to escape you'd melted away.congrats on the award,it was great to see your image in 'the flesh'
Click to expand...

Ah, I was trying to be inconspicuous after standin' up there feeling like a twonk! Glad you liked the pic 'in the flesh', it's not easy to get a complete sense of anything on the 'net really. I saw your stuff there, love the eagle particularly. Nick and Tim's pics were none too shabby either! Pity to have missed you, I'm sure we'll meet up at some stage though.

Welcome back Nick.

I rather feel that my sketching's been neglected recently, probably due to the not so good weather and the lack of decent birds on my hols. Still, last weekend's trip to Elmley produced a nice lot of snipe so a few went in.

Mike
 

Attachments

  • threesnipe.jpg
    threesnipe.jpg
    38.4 KB · Views: 44
  • morsmlsnipe.jpg
    morsmlsnipe.jpg
    22.9 KB · Views: 47
  • thetwonk.jpg
    thetwonk.jpg
    32.1 KB · Views: 84
Last edited:
lucky you! Snipe! I could sketch them forever.

Unless you'r ethe size of a hobbit, that picture is far bigger than I imagined - must be stunning in the flesh, shame I couldn't make it over. I think that there will have to be some sort of plan for a great Birdforum get together at some point.
 
nickderry said:
lucky you! Snipe! I could sketch them forever.

Unless you'r ethe size of a hobbit, that picture is far bigger than I imagined - must be stunning in the flesh, shame I couldn't make it over. I think that there will have to be some sort of plan for a great Birdforum get together at some point.
Click to expand...

LOL! I'm not overly tall as nature seems to have decreed that my energies go into growing outwards rather than upwards! The pic only just fits within the rules for size so it is fairly large.

A get together would be a fine thing if it could get organised. It's been mentioned before about the possibility of a Birdforum mini exhibition. Food for thought perhaps...

Mike
 
Lovely sketches Mike, and nice to glimpse you and your work in the flesh. You did very well given the bad weather in getting such nice snipe sketches.

This reminds me of a book I just started reading, 'The Shorebirds', by Peter Matthiessen with paintings by Robert Verity Clem. It begins by talking about how snipe in the US used to be shot by the hundreds. It's hard to believe. But thankfully some have survived. It's amazing though when you think what birds have been through.
 
Snipe seem to be like buses here; You wait ages to see one then five come along at once! This time they were all feeding happily pretty much out in the open. I take it that snipe are pretty scarce over your side of the pond then?

Mike
 
Love these snipe sketches. I love the gestural feel to them and the accuracy which you are so good at.
I think we are losing our snipe. Or at least they are keeping well hidden. Most people don't even know they exist.
 
Woody said:
Snipe seem to be like buses here; You wait ages to see one then five come along at once! This time they were all feeding happily pretty much out in the open. I take it that snipe are pretty scarce over your side of the pond then?

Mike
Click to expand...

I've held off on answering this Mike because I decided I'd really better do some research. I've only seen snipe about five times in my life, maybe ten at most. So they're scarce to me but that may just be because I'm not in the right habitat for them. When I checked Pete Dunne's Field Companion he says that they're common. So my guess is that in marshy areas they're not all that rare. But I had just been reading about how all shorebirds here were shot by the 100s at a time in the 1800s and I believe into the early 1900s. I guess it was just in comparison to how many there were here 150 years ago that all shorebirds have drastically declined in number. Are you now sorry you asked?;) That was one long-winded answer!
 
Hi Mike,

Went through the last few months of your posts, and your sketching is excellent! Yet another high bar for me to shoot for!
 
Hi Mike really like the snipe sketches , and now i know what you look like i will say hello next time i spot you at Oare :t:
 
Last edited:
Sorry for not contributing much lately, I've had an attack of apathy, perhaps it's the change in the weather, but I'm determined to shake it off and wake myself up a bit!

So here's a painting I've been working on over the last few weeks. I didn't even hear, let alone see, a kingfisher on the farm this year so I've used a small thumbnail sketch from a couple of years ago and combined it with a bit of pond reference shot on the farm to make a flight painting. I also wanted to show just how small kf's are so I included the hawker for scale and extra interest.

I'll try to catch up later today.

Mike
 

Attachments

  • bluestreak-photo.jpg
    bluestreak-photo.jpg
    118 KB · Views: 92
  • kflite small.jpg
    kflite small.jpg
    4.4 KB · Views: 50
Warning! This thread is more than 11 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.

Similar threads

chill6x6
SFL vs. Aurora...
2
Replies
39
Views
3K
chill6x6
chill6x6
G
Several Svbony ED's spotting.
Replies
0
Views
669
Granpoli
G
M
Moving/Will miss my birds
Replies
10
Views
906
Kellyhrclr1
K
Linda S
Coal Tit care
2
Replies
20
Views
980
Linda S
Linda S
chill6x6
Birding after surgery...
2
Replies
32
Views
2K
hopster
hopster

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 5 (members: 0, guests: 5)
Back
Top