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Steve's watercolour challenge (1 Viewer)

As mentioned in the gallery - love this piece. Life, atmosphere and a well composed simplicity to the piece - superb, Steve.
 
I love the Waxwings. The Shadow of the top Waxy just shouts Winter, with Low sun, and even the Sky seems to say frost (I don't know why, but somehow it does!)
Excellent!
 
I managed to see some nice birds over the weekend. On Saturday I intended to just take it easy around my local patch and do a bit of field study but a call had me scurrying down to crosby marina to feast my eyes on a firecrest that had just turned up. A lovely tiny bird that was singing and calling as it made its way around a big stand of willows.
So today I nipped up to the patch and managed a few sketches of the grey wags and a second winter med gull (head under wing most of the time but at least it was still) that was hanging out with the black headed gulls.
I've done a little comp of the wags for a possible painting, any suggestions welcome.
 

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Good drawing of the Waxwing Steve - we had a major influx passing through a few years ago in Sussex, they seem to favour a town in Mid Sussex on their passage for some reason - have a friend on garden watch for me up there tho' so fingers crossed for this year ;)
 
great stuff, can't keep my eyes still on those wagtails, plenty of life. Excellent firecrest, proper little gems, it took me ages to finally get one in my sights long enough to put it on paper (and ages to finally see one!)
 
Excellent wagtail studies, to my eye a grey wag momentarily hovering for prey with tail fanned out in the sunshine is one of natures great (though all too brief) sights.
 
Thanks everyone,
I hope I dont shatter your illusions of one of your great birdwatching moments with these paintings Mouldy!!
I did a prelim sketchy painting first to get the feel of what I was about to paint because this painting is taken from just from those few sketches with no scenery. The reservoir where I sketched the wags is all concrete and steel so had to make up the background . Can you tell? Not sure if the rocks are a bit too red
I'm fairly pleased with it but don't kow wether to put some foliage in the top right of the pic.
Hope you like and thanks for looking,
Steve
 

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I'm impressed you could recognise the mayfly Zac
I thought the feet would be noticed by all you people out there with a foot fetish at moment .;)
Steve
 
I think it looks better without the foliage (remind me a bit of a pic I did a couple of years back of three grey wags on the edge of a reservoir). A very calming piece, yet it still has that action to it. Great stuff.
 
It's a nice composition, Steve - I wonder if there isn't something in the original observation about the 'concrete reservoir' that I'd perhaps like to see? You know, the factthat birds turn up in these monstrous man-made environments and bring a wonderful 'wild-life' to them. I think images like wags on sluices and peregrines on cooling towers (as at Tinsley, Sheffield) can make for stunning art pieces. I still like your 'relocated' wags though - the design is super. I'm with Nick - drop the green.
 
Nice work Steve. I'm with Tim on the man-made stuff juxtaposed (to use a horrible word as used by the worst sort of graphic designers- Not you Tim!) with the beauty of wildlife. I was watching a wheatear on the top of a digger at the weekend, smooth clean colours against oily cr*p, hmmm...

Oh and well done on the firecrest, only ever seen one myself.

Woody
 
Hi Tim and Woody,
I must admit I did feel a bit guilty changing the background considering I birdwatch here every week. Maybe I shall do another but this time with the concrete . I almost did do it that way so I have an idea floating around in my head.
Thanks Steve
 
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