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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Some stuff from Morroco ! (2 Viewers)

Andrew Ellis

Well-known member
Thought cos every one was putting so much good sketching material on at
the mo , I thought i'd put some more on too.

went looking back through my sketches plan chest the other day looking
for a reference and stumbled across some sketches done on a trip
to Morroco.I used the camera alot on that trip but did manage to do
a few sketches. The highlight for me on this trip was seeing a female
Barbary falcon Nr a town called Missour. At first we got some good views of her atop an electricity pole just off the road. I managed to get a good
couple of drawings of her then as I was about to start a third sketch
She left the pole and swooped on another falcon lifting off from the
ground ten or so yards away from the bottom of the pole.

The image of it stuck in my mind so I did another drawing of the event.
we thought that it was either a pair co operative hunting and were unsuccessful.
Or maybe one falcon trying to pirate another of its kill, we saw no quarry
as such though so who knows. The female on the pole was a particularly
handsome girl with more red on her nape than the Barbaries usually
seen in the area.

Appologies as the sketches were done on A3 so I had to do two
scans of the second page of drawings explaining the interaction
 

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excellent sketches, brings back memories of one I saw on Lanzarote in 1999, they are handsome indeed.
 
guys, what do you think about these I did on the same trip of
a Moussier's Redstart, this bird was by a small village we were staying
by and although I'm no expert it didn't seem the right kind of habitat for
him cos it was very open. I thought they prefered more scrubier
vegetation.

however be kind Passerines are'nt my strong point.

Beautiful little bird though. ;)

Again done on A3 so scans a bit disjointed, sorry
 

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Beautiful work Andrew - I think VB has it spot on, you seem to be equally adept at all bird types - excellent. A real pleasure to view, these.
 
Thankyou all, I will put some more on from the trip soon. you have all
probably gathered and some of you know that I am a raptor
specialist really and and am known for it but I love to create artwork on all
birds . Just the Demand is for my raptors . This forum is a great place and
Its already made me start to look and doing alot more species besides
raptors.

Lack of time in the field is a real issue for me.and something I need to address.
Are any of you exhibiting at the bird fair this year. amazingly its an event
I never get to because of other shows or commitments I have.

I did go one year when I came runner up in a Birdwatching mag art
competition and got a chance to meet Bruce Pearson, and a few others of
the swla elite! sad to say but I was made to feel a little bit of an
outsider to be honest not an experience I enjoyed and it
put me off of exhibiting with them and I have never since. In all
honestly It was probably my own insecurities that came out as they probably were un aware of this at the time.

I remember asking Bruce for some pointers and got the distict impression
that he had better things to do .

well sorry about that ! been obviously carying that baggage for a while;)
 
Thankyou all, I will put some more on from the trip soon. you have all
probably gathered and some of you know that I am a raptor
specialist really and and am known for it but I love to create artwork on all
birds . Just the Demand is for my raptors . This forum is a great place and
Its already made me start to look and doing alot more species besides
raptors.

Lack of time in the field is a real issue for me.and something I need to address.
Are any of you exhibiting at the bird fair this year. amazingly its an event
I never get to because of other shows or commitments I have.

I did go one year when I came runner up in a Birdwatching mag art
competition and got a chance to meet Bruce Pearson, and a few others of
the swla elite! sad to say but I was made to feel a little bit of an
outsider to be honest not an experience I enjoyed and it
put me off of exhibiting with them and I have never since. In all
honestly It was probably my own insecurities that came out as they probably were un aware of this at the time.

I remember asking Bruce for some pointers and got the distict impression
that he had better things to do .

well sorry about that ! been obviously carying that baggage for a while;)

Join the club! I met Bruce at the bird fair, and showed him a portfolio, he took some time to look through (horrified that he put his hands all over my paintings, but he's a better artist than me so I'll let him!). I do feel that some artists lose a bit of sociability though, I won't name names but one artist I admire told me that if I wasn't going to buy, could I please move away! Still admire his work though, just not his attitude. Of all the bird fair artists, John Paige stood out for his enthusiasm and willingness to talk. Don't think I'll be doing anything at the bird fair for a long time, I'm sure the cost is abhorrent, am just about going to manage to pay to submit 6 pictures to the SWLA, £300 for framing and submission fees and that's getting a good price on the frames and not counting the cost of getting to London from France.

I seriously want to set up an exhibition of pictures painted on cardboard stuck on the walls with blu-tack! Cheap and cheerful!
 
Join the club! I met Bruce at the bird fair, and showed him a portfolio, he took some time to look through (horrified that he put his hands all over my paintings, but he's a better artist than me so I'll let him!). I do feel that some artists lose a bit of sociability though, I won't name names but one artist I admire told me that if I wasn't going to buy, could I please move away! Still admire his work though, just not his attitude. Of all the bird fair artists, John Paige stood out for his enthusiasm and willingness to talk. Don't think I'll be doing anything at the bird fair for a long time, I'm sure the cost is abhorrent, am just about going to manage to pay to submit 6 pictures to the SWLA, £300 for framing and submission fees and that's getting a good price on the frames and not counting the cost of getting to London from France.

I seriously want to set up an exhibition of pictures painted on cardboard stuck on the walls with blu-tack! Cheap and cheerful!

You can actually send them by courier as long as they arrive on the submission date - I looked into this recently for a friend of mine. It may be a bit risky but you could give them a call and check it out.
 
You can actually send them by courier as long as they arrive on the submission date - I looked into this recently for a friend of mine. It may be a bit risky but you could give them a call and check it out.
Used this process myself last year - worked really well (except the end result, of course).
Hi Andrew - With regard to abruptness from senior artists - I have to say I have met Bruce Pearson once 1991 Birdfair, and he was friendly enough then - more recently indeed I have corresponded with him a couple of times and he was extremely generous with both his very considered reply and his comments. I suppose we all have off-days and the Birdfair is a high pressure situation for many of these top boys and girls - abruptness can easily come across as rudeness -you're dead right though - a throwaway comment, so easily forgotten by those who make it, can burn for a long time in the soul of those who are the recipient! I remember having my work 'returned' from a very well known gallery - unsold and I asked if they'd like some more to replace them. "Oh, NO thanks - we already represent 'So and So' (another VERY well known artist) - your stuff's just too similar, and he's up-and-coming". Well, F*ck You, then, t*sser - I still bear that particular grudge.
Hard sometimes, eh?
 
I did go one year when I came runner up in a Birdwatching mag art
competition and got a chance to meet Bruce Pearson, and a few others of
the swla elite! sad to say but I was made to feel a little bit of an
outsider to be honest not an experience I enjoyed and it
put me off of exhibiting with them and I have never since. In all
honestly It was probably my own insecurities that came out as they probably were un aware of this at the time.

I remember asking Bruce for some pointers and got the distict impression
that he had better things to do .

[/QUote

Was at the Bird Fair a few years ago, a friend of mine was exhibiting and he was a friend of Pearson. Bruce Pearson had been an idol of mine for years so I badgered my mate to introduce us, no problem, "Bruce, this is a mate of mine, Phil an artist from Ireland ". I stood there with a stupid smile on my face and my hand outstretched to shake his which he ignored. He grunted an hello and promptly turned his back on me. Being the shy retiring type that I am I said " Bruce, I think you're a wonderful artist, but as a person you're a total A***hole", and walked off.

Phil.
 
I met Bruce Pearson at the Bird Fair in 2004 and he was really nice. He was happy to chat and did so to me for 5-10 minutes and signed my copy of 'Treasures of the Forgotten Forest'. Certainly not an a-hole at all.

I'm not going to get to the Bird Fair this year, sadly. I can't afford to travel up there.
 
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It is a pity that people who have a wonderful (if not easy) living and who have people who look up to them and want to talk to them, aren't always as polite and accommodating as they could be.
 
I suppose they get fed up with people, but it does'nt take much to make a fan happy, just a smile and a handshake will normally do. Anyway I'll never have that problem.

All the best,



phil.
 
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