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JTMB's Bird Art (2 Viewers)

Thanks so much for the feedback everyone! You should know, however, that I've sent a letter to the AOU petitioning for a name change for the woodpecker species shown here. :-O
 
Beautiful sketches and paintings John. My favorite is the begging Dipper kid! Earlier this summer I saw a dipper family with three kids all out on a streamside rock. Really cute little guys! Keep up the good work.
 
All manner of techniques and media well played with here, John. I await in fidgety anticipation to see what happens when you combine it with some life-work!

Russ
 
Ring-necked Duck Sketches and Hairy Woodpecker WIP

Thanks Ken, Sid and Russ!

Thanks to everyone who suggested doing the Hairy...uhhh...Woodpecker as a finished piece. I have had that on my short list of finished pieces to do, but have done mostly sketching over the last few months - so I decided to jump in and give it a go. I debated whether I really wanted to post a WIP, as it could be embarrassing to see that I got off to a decent start and then ran the train off the rails before the finish, but what the heck. The potential risk is worth the great critique I'll get from folks here. This piece is watercolor on 14 x 20" (roughly) Arches cold press (~36 x 51 cm) - the first time I've done a watercolor on something this size (I have done oils up to 30 x 48"), so that will be another challenge. I opted to paint the bird first figuring with watercolor that if I messed up the bird I didn't want to waste time on doing the background first. This WIP was done this morning in a class I'm taking in about 1 1/2 hours. The sketch (freehand, not tracing) was done the previous evening in about an hour or so.

The other attachment here is a page of Ring-necked Ducks done from various angles using a video I took a couple days ago as a reference.

2008-S70-HAWOFledglingFromMyPhoto-Nov8,10-WS.jpg2001-S70-RNDUfromVideo-Nov7,10-WS.jpg
 
You're an ambitiuos lad, John, starting with such large paper. It will be interesting to see how this develops. Ah those Ring-necked Ducks. After seeing them for about a week I ws still calling them Ring-billed Ducks. I can't begin to figure out why.;)
 
solitaryVSong said:
You're an ambitiuos lad, John, starting with such large paper. It will be interesting to see how this develops. Ah those Ring-necked Ducks. After seeing them for about a week I ws still calling them Ring-billed Ducks. I can't begin to figure out why.;)
Click to expand...

Lovely ringnecks - and Ken, I wouldn't worry - ring-billed duck is what we call them in French - fuligule à bec cerclé!
 
Yes, Ken, it is one of those mysteries of the bird naming world. I think about the incongruity every time I look at one of those birds.

Nick - glad to hear the French got something right...! ;)

I got the sky wash and the first wash on the tree done last night, but haven't taken a photo yet. So far the train is still on the rails...
 
http://www.ducks.org/media/hunting/waterfowlIDGallery/_images/fullSize/ringneckedDuck1.jpg

subtle - but there is a chestnutty neck ring.

As for the French getting it right, Edgar Faure once said "the French people are the most intelligent people in the world, that's why, no doubt, they don't think."

The German Ringschnabelente also means "ring-billed duck". The Spanish and Italian follow the scientific name and draw attention to the faint collar.
 
Good start on the Woodpecker, John. Just forge ahead assuming you are going to get it finished perfectly and maybe you will!
 
Well, I'm close to being done on this one. I decided to stop before I went too far, and let it 'age' a bit before doing anything more. There are a couple of touch-up things I need to do yet at a minimum but overall I think I'm about as far as I need to go.

This is watercolor with some gouache and about 14 x 20 inches.

What do you folks think?

2025-S70-HAWOinNestHole-Nov11,10-WS.jpg
 
I knew this would be good John! Lovely composition and superb details on the bark.

I still think Gorilla-Crowned Duck would be a better name!
 
I love the warm light in this, I think you could punch up the contrast a bit more on the bird, the shadow he casts and under him...(warm light casts cool shadows) that would anchor the focal point
 
JTMB said:
Well, I'm close to being done on this one. I decided to stop before I went too far, and let it 'age' a bit before doing anything more. There are a couple of touch-up things I need to do yet at a minimum but overall I think I'm about as far as I need to go.

This is watercolor with some gouache and about 14 x 20 inches.

What do you folks think?

View attachment 292803
Click to expand...

super woodpecker piece- are the most shaded parts of the tree trunk a bit darker the the most shaded bits of the woodpecker? I'd be tempted to go a touch stronger with the most shaded parts of the left hand side (as we look at it) of the woodpeckers forehead, chest
 
I'm just going to say, whatever you do for the finishing touches, keep them to a minimum - what a splendid piece!
 
nickderry said:
I'm just going to say, whatever you do for the finishing touches, keep them to a minimum - what a splendid piece!
Click to expand...

This turned out very well John. Like Nick I'd say keep any changes to a minimum and maybe let it sit for a week before doing them. I have to confess I was worried about the way you started off with that very dark woodpecker head in the middle of a more or less blank sheet of paper. I was afraid the contrast would be so strong that you'd have a hard time tying in the rest of the painting. But the warm light on the bark looks just great, and the head no longer looks like the darkest part of the picture. And you did it at a fair size! All add up to a great accomplishment I think.
 
Thanks Phil, Colleen, Ed, Nick and Ken...! I am definitely not going to make any changes soon - I learned that lesson some time ago. Stop - a bit earlier than your instincts might have you believe - set it aside to 'age', then look at it with fresh eyes. I'm taking a watercolor class which is on Monday mornings, so I'm going to take it as is to the class and get critiques there as well before making any final decision.

As to more contrast with darker values on the front of the bird and the tree in his shadow, that's something I most likely will do. I almost darkened the breast of the bird more before stopping for now, but opted to wait and see. With oils or pastels, you can always get lighter, but with watercolor too darks are usually irreversible without gouache or scrubbing enough to damage the paper.

Thanks again everyone for taking the time to look and comment -much appreciated!
 
The discipline of "maturation" is a hard thing!

Sounds like you're doing fine with this. One or two years is good for me with this. After that my stuff tends to go "corked!"

Hope you get the inspiration, and the advice.

I'd drink the whole bottle now if it were me! B :);):cat:
 
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