Elina's Corner (1 Viewer)

Hello from Finland!

Looks like I'm settling here in this part of BF, so I guess I'll claim a corner of my own here and see, what happens.

I've drawn my first birds at a very young age, I was probably just a few years old then. I've never quit drawing, but only a couple of years ago, when I got serious about birdwatching, I also started to pay more attention to drawing birds. For a long while I'd been stuck with the thought "I can draw wolves, I can draw foxes, but I can't draw birds. Those feathers and beaks and feet are just impossible to get right." But when I found myself face to face with so many wonderful birds and no camera, I had to start drawing them. I got myself John Busby's Drawing Birds (a wonderful, wonderful book) and realized that maybe I could, after all, learn how to manage all those feathers.

So "I can't draw birds" changed to "I shall draw birds".

I'm beginning to find out that I actually can manage some amount of feathers (the way wings fold still confuses me, though), the beaks are not so impossible after all, and the feet... Well, I'm still working on the feet. |:S|

This spring I've also changed "I can't draw field scetches" to "I shall draw field scetches". |<| So I guess there shall be some scetches coming here sooner or later. But I'll start by posting some older stuff.

Elina

Azure tit

I'm not yet sure of how to post pics, this is a first try, we'll see what happens.

Ever since I got the Mullarney-Svensson-Zetterström bird guide, I've wanted to see an Azure tit. So when one landed in the city where I study, I was thrilled. On the second try (after waiting for 3 hours on windy sea shore, getting my feet wet and not having eaten enough) the bird appeared just as I was about to leave. It was a beauty, and one of the most thrilling moments I've experienced with birds. I ended up making some scetches on train home that evening based on what I could remember (the color patterns I had to check from a bird guide). After that I drew quite a few drawings from photos and other drawings. And after that, I'd gotten to the point when I could take out my memories and actually make an Azure tit that was my own making.

So here are three pictures: the scetches were made on the train, the azure on a branch is drawn from some bird guide, and the azure in the reeds is my own making from beginning to end. (First two were drawn in December 2006, the painting in January 2007.)

The azure in the reeds is based on interesting behaviour I witnessed. It was the second time I got to see the little blue and white fellow, and it was flying to the top of a reed and then slid down the reed. It seemed to be having fun, just flying up and sliding down. |^|

Very nice Elina - I like the progress story and how you finally make the connection between the technical aspects of making a drawing look like your desired subject and the actual event you witnessed. The finished product - combining artwork and recollection - work together, producing an enchanting account, beautifully illustrated.

A great big welcome from me - it seems there are some wonderful things happening in your drawings, the azure tit is 100% joyful - I'm certainly looking forward to seeing more;

Nice little collection Elina. I'll certainly be looking forward to seeing what appears in this corner of BF.

Mike

Elina, some real nice work there and I will try and keep up with your progress

Wings and Smews

Thank you, it's an honor to get comments from such great artists as all of you are! Today I managed to make some field scetches, nothing great, but I'll still post them here. This is where I'm starting this Spring, we'll see, what my field work looks like in the Autumn. (Hopefully better!)

(Someone is trying to come through the wall with a drill or something, so there's no way I could work. So I can spend some time here with a good concience.)

I ended up going birdwatching with some fellow birders today. We started off at 3:45 AM and biked to a bird tower at Kempeleenlahti (Gulf of Kempele). The sun was beginning to rise as we finally reached the tower. For a while it was calm and just some birds in an open spot on the sea (we've still got ice on seas and lakes) and a wonderful sunrise.

I had a chance to make some scetching there. Which meant that for I while I stared at the Smews through somebody's telescope and then scurried to the bench to draw, then back begging someone to let me take one more look at the Smews. There was a Shoveller there as well, Marsh harrier, Widgeon... And then big flocks of geese strated coming. In an hour we saw almost a thousand geese (no more scetching, since I was writing down the sizes of the goose flocks as a friend of mine shouted out the numbers). Mostly Bean geese, but some Pink-legged as well, and one Greater white-fronted. And some Cranes and Whooper swans passing by as well.

On the way home we saw the years first Pied flycatcher, and on a lake I saw my first Pochards. Two lifers today, Pochard and the Pink-legged goose!

But now to the scetches. The first one is actually made yesterday in class (the lecturer caught me only once off guard...), I was trying to figure out how wings work based on memory and I think I got somewhere.

Then two pages of smews (+ a marsh harrier on the first page...). I'm going to try and make something more finished based on these today. And I also want to make some scetches based on memory of the Pochards.

The drilling has ended - hopefully for good. So time to get some work done.

Elina

Welcome to BF Elina, Looking forward to seeing a lot more from you.

Bird of the day: Shelduck

Today I was supposed to just quickly visit a couple of bird places with a friend of mine and then get back home to work (I work as a translator, so I can decide when I work and when I have free time). But instead... It's one of the first real summer days in here, the sun, the warm wind from the sea, the oystercatchers, gulls and whatnot... So eventually I ended up spending all evening by the sea.

I got to make some scetching as well - the shellduck was a first for this year and though it was pretty far away, I got inspired and decided to make a scetch. And since I had my new Derwent Drawing -color pencils with me, I decided this would be the first time I really use them (wonderful pencils, by the way, I'm totally in love with them, though I've only done this one scetch of a shelduck with them, they just feel right and work nicely, blend nicely... oooh can't wait till I get to try something more detailed with them). The shelduck was standing in the water (not too deep out there) when I started scetching.

And then some smews I did this morning (not field scetches, just trying to figure out how the smew transfers from feathers to lines). The ones in the upper part of the paper are drawn from a photo, I needed to go through the bird from a photo to get it right. After that I did the two below from memory.

I now work with 4B pencils, it's definitely different from the hard ones I've used before, but I'm slowly beginning to get the hang of how these soft ones work.

But now it's time to go to sleep! Tomorrow morning it'll be birds again, with another friend then.

Good night! (By the way, in Finland, when you go to sleep, you can say you go to feather islands. Sounds so right for a birder!)

Elina

must be so nice to have smew to sketch, and you've certainly made the most of them, these sketches are as joyful as the birds are themselves.

Elina a warm welcome also from me!
Your work shows that we have to expect much more from you!
Looking forward to see the next...

Paschalis

I'm with Nick! Smew is a treat that I wish I was a lot more familiar with.

Mike

Woody said:

I'm with Nick! Smew is a treat that I wish I was a lot more familiar with.

Mike

Click to expand...

Hello from Sunny Stockholm Elina, welcome to the forum....

Love the skethes so far, nice and fresh and obviously done from life. You have a nice eye for subtle posture and this reflects in your work, especially the last Smew pages, well drawn...

Look forward to seeing more as they come along. Enjoy the returning summer migrants!

Yes, I'm most definitely enjoying the returning summer migrants. So nice to have them back. (And the warm weather means it's more comfortable to work on field scetches.)

More smew (yes, it's so wonderful to have them around)... I found smews to scetch on a nearby lake. One of them seemed to have a crush on a female Goldeneye, so it was quite interesting to watch how the little Smew was chasing off bigger male Goldeneyes. At times it was very close, probably 10 meters at best (which was amazing, since this is a very shy species). Such a beautiful, beautiful bird.

The opportunity was wonderful for scetching - I ended up filling 10 pages in my little scetchbook (and buying a bigger one the very same evening). In the evening I ended up drawing some more detailed scetches based on memory. It's quite difficult to get the smew's head toss right, the movement just doesn't come along. Oh well, I just need a lot more practice.

And the last scetch... I know, I know... This is a bird forum... And that's not a bird... But I found a hedgehog today while searching for a Black cap. And I just had to sit down and scetch it. Poor thing was terrified when I walked close to it and sat down. It was just standing there, nose burried in leaves and trembling. Eventually the little guy realised that the huge thing with a scetchbook was not dangerous and went on with it's own business (which is, snuffling around in the leaves).

(I do admit I finished the hedgehog in class tonight, so it's not totally a field scetch...)

Maybe next time I'll have something else to post than smew... |>|

If thats not being able to draw birds,I wish I couldn't.

One more smew! || Today, in class I found myself recalling how the smew was chasing off a male golden eye, and decided to give the scene a go. Here's what came out of the memory. I'm still getting used to these color pencils, and I think I messed up the side of the smew (too dark)...

Wonderful action - I don't think you made it too dark. Wonderful - pictures like this, where we see birds doing things and not just sitting side on to us are what wildlife art is all about (IMO).

Hello Elina,
And another welcome to the Birdforum. I think your "corner" is a great addition to our site. Really enjoying your pictures!

more super sketches

You're really having fun with those flowing shapes, super stuff.

Mike