Recent sketches (1 Viewer)

RussB · Mar 14, 2011

timwootton said:
Your work ethic puts me to miserable shame, Russ - some excellent work here (one of the best oiks is upside down). Your investigative study of the buzzard would seem to have nailed the ID - for me anyway (common)- these are lovely drawings.
Incidentally, I wonder what you would think of this bird, had you seen it in the field?

Cheers, all.

I'd go for Common with this one, Tim. Don't ask me why, though!

Sketches of The White Nun's ugly wife/sister/sibling. Only joking. Redhead smew at Wintersett and Anglers CP t'other week was a sketching tick for me. Infact it was only the second one I've ever seen in this plumage. What a cracking little duck! First one a kind of quck 'jigsaw' to nail the ID and then I spent the next few hours trying to get certain poses quicky down on paper between dives. Working this rapidly aint pretty but I'm figuring it's the best way to go considering my crap visual memory. Another case for A3, I think. Went through lots of pages again - about 20 sides all in. My art teacher at comp nearly 30 yrs ago would have had a dicky fit - '' don't waste paper ''!
I would like to stress that's as far as my art education got - 1984 or thereabouts. This certainly beats drawing bog roll tubes stacked together, or summat like that!

RussB · Mar 14, 2011

Five more. Last one is not of two together - who do think I am, Nick Derry? - but a paper-saving excercise!

Cheers

Russ

buzzard12 · Mar 14, 2011

Hi Russ,
Very nice, smewness oozing off the screen here, very accomplished set of drawings. Earliers Oystercatcers are fabulous too, captured them to a tee. Buzzrd sketches are a very useful set of drawings, amazing how variable these birds are. Spent a week watching thoudands of them at Falsterbo and was gobsmacked by some of the plumages on show...must say the pale birds are most striking...

timwootton · Mar 14, 2011

Very beautiful indeed - the development through the drawings from the first few figuring out what fits where, to the last few where the shapes are simplified and slot together organically is an education. Superb work.
Common buzzard, indeed.

ARTHUR BISHOP · Mar 14, 2011

Superb sketches Russ

nickderry · Mar 15, 2011

Smew! Lovely! I've been hoping to see some of these all winter with no success, these sketches are just how I remember most of the ones I've seen.

Woody · Mar 15, 2011

The smew are great, I struggle with ducks of all kinds.

I neglected to comment on the terrific oiks further upstream, they're stonking, particularly the 'shouters'. Black and white birds...Perfect for an artist who primarily uses graphite to tackle as a colour piece don't you think?...

Mike

solitaryVSong · Mar 15, 2011

timwootton said:
Very beautiful indeed - the development through the drawings from the first few figuring out what fits where, to the last few where the shapes are simplified and slot together organically is an education. Superb work.

Yes, more superb work Russ. And it does remind me of a question I have when looking at your work. You mention that you work quickly and yet the lines have a sureness and simplicity to them. So I wonder do you spend a lot of time looking and then put down those sure lines, is there a lot of erasing or do you just get them right the first time? I know if I work quickly, which is pretty much what I do in the field, I rarely get lines with such sureness. In any case a great collection of sketches again.

JTMB · Mar 16, 2011

Great group of sketches, Russ! Especially considering they are the first time with the species...

RussB · Mar 23, 2011

Cheers, guys.

Hi Ken, It depends on what the birds doing or how much I've got my eye in!
I sketch a lot of ducks so I am familiar with the basic shapes so it's usually a case of looking hard and then getting it down as quickly as poss, really. If it's stationary I try to sketch by barely taking my eye of the subject, with usually hap-hazard results but some of these are often the most accurate lines. I'm from the John Busby school re erasers - ''they waste time'' he stated! But then I see a photo of Jonsson using one so the jury's out on this one for me.

The return of Keehar the Med Gull but I think I'll rename him Garth! This testosterone fuelled bird is back at Old Moor and spends most of the time chasing the black-heads from his chosen patch. The quest to loosen up and put more life and form into my birds continues, but it's gonna be long, long ride. Attempts to try to capture certain poses, including a snooze.

Pintail was a sketching tick for me and I quickly understood why they are the 'artists duck'! The difficulty rating goes through the roof, too! I could have gone through a full book studying this bird. Sketch of the dabbling drake and a 'bog standard' side on swimmer - if the words 'bog standard' can be associated with such a beast.

RussB · Mar 23, 2011

Four more...

Cao

timwootton · Mar 23, 2011

Excellent work Russ, with two especially good drawings IMHO; the snoozing Med gull has all the structure, form and elegance of a Donatello and the surface-picking pintail really captures the beauty of this striking bird. That wildfowl neck-kink is a begger to catch - but netted perfectly here. I think a wee tweak and a dab of artistic re-interpretation and you've got the essence of one sumptious painting here - er, should you ever deign to approach colour

Woody · Mar 23, 2011

Lovely, lively set Russ. The snoozer at number five is a real cracker, I think it's the almost squared off head that does it.

Mike

Woody · Mar 23, 2011

timwootton said:
the snoozing Med gull has all the structure, form and elegance of a Donatello

Ha! Snap!

Mike

JTMB · Mar 23, 2011

Great sketches, Russ! Good job on the pintail, and having seen tons of them but not tried to sketch any yet, I can understand your comment on the challenges involved. I think the drake pintail is the most elegant duck in our area - the combination of the handsome markings and the long, beautifully curved neck makes for a striking fellow indeed. Capturing the graceful head and neck structure is a significant feat.

ARTHUR BISHOP · Mar 23, 2011

lovely sketching Russ

solitaryVSong · Mar 23, 2011

Getting better all the time Russ!

I think the Busby school on erasers is the right one, at least as much as there is a 'right' way. I guess that's one reason I use pens. I know I can't worry about erasing. I either get it right the first time, press down harder to 'fix' it, or move on.................

RussB · Mar 30, 2011

Cheers all, as ever for your comments to keep me going in my glorious struggle!

Spent a few hours (it seemed like a lot longer, actually) trying to immortalize His Holiness the white nun recently. If only my lines would do justice to this magnificent bird. Shape is deceptively 'basic' but this doesn't make it any easier. Not that intricately marked either - black, white and pale grey, but it was a real challenge getting everything in place in double-quick time. This is the first time I've been able to really 'get into' one of these and as the time went on my lines got that bit more assured. Face-on it showed a really strange 'extra-terrestrial' quality which reminded me of the alien from the movie 'Paul'! Umpteen pages of sketches and I was 'smewed out' by the time it had flown.

RussB · Mar 30, 2011

A few more...

Flogging a dead horse sometimes comes to mind!

timwootton · Mar 30, 2011

I assume these are posted chronologically? That would make great sense because the very last drawing is one which really ought to be mounted, framed and thoroughly enjoyed for a long, long time. Terrific piece of work.

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