Welcome to Nick's dining room table. (2 Viewers)

[rockfowl]

Masterful Nick!

Love the Bittern, exquisite movement and that 'you can't see me expression' caught to a T.
Love the 'blue period' church and creeper, very moody with warmth, great stuff.
The clockface looks like it could be a cracker too, brave and interesting, inspiring as usual!

 

[username]

First bittern in your last post should be a stained glass window...superb..!

I won't comment on all the pix but, going back, i love that dark crossbill...[i hope it's a crossbill]...:smoke:

Blue church has a certain Van Gogh quality.....all stunning stuff.....bloody marvelous....:t:

 

[timwootton]

there is now a contract in my papers and the book project of a Besançon sketchbook is going ahead (all being well as I know a contract is not 100% certain). Hopefully we'll be publishing in the spring of 2013.

NOW THAT'S WORTH A TOAST, MATEY!!!!B B B
Excellent news Nick, put me down for one - right now!!!

Oh, nice paintings, too . . . ..

 

[Woody]

First bittern raised a smile; Straight from the ministry of silly walks and spot on!

Sketchbook of Besançon, 'bout time too!

Mike

 

[buzzard12]

First bittern raised a smile; Straight from the ministry of silly walks and spot on!

Sketchbook of Besançon, 'bout time too!

Mike

Quite Mike. The second Bittern even more so! Stunning work Nick, and many congrats on the book, now that will be something rather special...

 

[Strandman]

keeping busy...

Have been working a lot in the town recently as after everything that happened this time last year with publishers etc, there is now a contract in my papers and the book project of a Besançon sketchbook is going ahead (all being well as I know a contract is not 100% certain). Hopefully we'll be publishing in the spring of 2013.

super walking bittern

congrats on the book- when can we start posting on here asking why our copies haven't arrived?

is the clocky walltoaster the first time (ever?) a ruler or other formal straight edge has been used in a Derry work?

 

[Woody]

is the clocky walltoaster the first time (ever?) a ruler or other formal straight edge has been used in a Derry work?

Why do I get the feeling it was the edge of a cornflake packet or some such?

Mike

 

[nickderry]

Why do I get the feeling it was the edge of a cornflake packet or some such?

Mike

It was both a ruler and a piece of paper (ruler not long enough). I must confess to a little copying of photos here, (I think it's clear why), so before I paint it up, I think I'll do the 'confession' to absolve me of my sin - here is the photo with the grid on it to try and copy it to paper.

 

[Woody]

It was both a ruler and a piece of paper (ruler not long enough). I must confess to a little copying of photos here, (I think it's clear why), so before I paint it up, I think I'll do the 'confession' to absolve me of my sin - here is the photo with the grid on it to try and copy it to paper.

I don't believe that bird was actually there, it looks a bit sus to me?! The lighting's all wrong, surely cut and pasted from another photo...

Mike

 

[colleenc]

A book with your art....what a dream come truesB ...the bittern is the BEST! one day hope I see them in the wild...we have them around here somewhere.

 

[timwootton]

Nah, Mike - this is exactly what wallcreepers look like in real life . . . . erm, I think
Intriguing concept Nick - care to divulge any more about the theme?

 

[RussB]

Never sketched a bitten, well not properly. Guess what? The interesting bits were hidden. Superbly done, these two. I find the rendering of the 'typha' and 'phrag' (latin names come from helping out mangaging a local nature reserve) as good as the bird's plumage. Excellent.
The clock face - no matter how it's been done - looks like something from Da Vinci's back catalogue, such is the beauty of the lines. The paper's just missing that very old look!

Russ

 

[JTMB]

Great newsabout the upcoming book, Nick! Count me as a buyer as well.

The Bittern sketches here are excellent! For years I had only brief looks at them, but a couple years ago we found a marsh where there was a pair in residence and got a lifetime worth of looks. Unfortunately I wasn't doing art yet then...if it happens again, I'll have the sketchbook handy.

 

[solitaryVSong]

NOW THAT'S WORTH A TOAST, MATEY!!!!B B B
Excellent news Nick, put me down for one - right now!!!

Oh, nice paintings, too . . . ..

My sentiments exactly. Each time I look at your work, especially if the images are larger as on your blog and Facebook I think, I say to myself 'These just have to be put in a book!! I'm so happy to see that they finally will be.

And as Tim says, nice paintings too I love the bitterns.

 

[nickderry]

done it, I really like the clockface, but I find the wallcreeper overworked and fussy. Saying that, if this were someone else's picture, I'd probably love it.

I think I'm going to continue using acrylics as though they were watercolours in the next lot of paintings, it's much easier to get more tones with them.

 

[nickderry]

little fiddle, just needed to take in the birds throat a little (used to painting them in the freezing cold) and buff him up a little. Done now (bad photo though)

 

[timwootton]

Thoroughly delightful. The whole works perfectly, and yet I get the impression we could chop any given section of this work - a la Keeble - and reveal mini-masterpieces dotted all over the shop. Fascinating diversion.

 

[sfrissell]

Congratulations on the book contract, Nick. Looking forward to it with great anticipation. Those two Bittern paintings are wonderful. Bitterns alone are great birds and you paintings show them well. But I just drool over the backgrounds in these two paintings. Wonderfully impressionistic work. I also like the way you use grays and browns. Great stuff. Worthy of a book and maybe a prize or two.

 

[Strandman]

little fiddle, just needed to take in the birds throat a little (used to painting them in the freezing cold) and buff him up a little. Done now (bad photo though)

its beautiful: ticktockodroma muraria

so often pics are zoomed in and don't really show how small the (or big) a bird is, but here you really see that it is a jewel on a big thing

 

[rockfowl]

The french 39 steps! - Bloody marvellous Nick.