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From the sketchbook... (2 Viewers)

WOW - I've only just looked at these last studies - incredible. The pallid and whinchat drawings are very beautiful, but your colourwork with the waders is out of this world. Mate - these are so fabulous, it's difficult for me to find the words. The dunlin coloured pieces are among the very best field studies I've ever seen - terrific work.
Some superbly observed flight shapes in the petrel drawings and the terns and the gulls and the lbj . . . . . and then these coloured tern studies. All are splendid, but the morning sketch shows such mastery of form and light; a brave piece which evokes a real sense of being there (the water is also handled expertly, too).
All in all, a fabulous wealth of art and fieldwork, imminently publishable and saleable; more work here than I've produced in the field for over two years!!! and the consistant quality. . . amazing. just amazing.
 
WOW - I've only just looked at these last studies - incredible. The pallid and whinchat drawings are very beautiful, but your colourwork with the waders is out of this world. Mate - these are so fabulous, it's difficult for me to find the words. The dunlin coloured pieces are among the very best field studies I've ever seen - terrific work.
Some superbly observed flight shapes in the petrel drawings and the terns and the gulls and the lbj . . . . . and then these coloured tern studies. All are splendid, but the morning sketch shows such mastery of form and light; a brave piece which evokes a real sense of being there (the water is also handled expertly, too).
All in all, a fabulous wealth of art and fieldwork, imminently publishable and saleable; more work here than I've produced in the field for over two years!!! and the consistant quality. . . amazing. just amazing.
Agree absolutely with Tim in every word, my favorites ,your waders...Such quality going among with quantity is rarely seen...

Paschalis
 
Angarn received a visit too, another wetland inland to the north of Stockholm. Got myself a small Windsor and Newton field watercolour box, small, compact and handy..

Hi there! Me too, but I've not yet had the inclination to use it!
Where can I find another thread which features such fantastic subjects gulls; waders and raptors, and all effortlessly captured. The Pallid Harrier flight studies are most impressive, sir!
Would you tell me what paper you're using for the watercolour studies, Alan?
I've mentioned this before but there's no way i can afford to use decent watercolour paper the way I use my sketchbooks. Perhaps the answer is to take a few sheets out and copy the best efforts on to the w/c pad, or has someone already told me this?

Cheers

Russ
 
Hi there! Me too, but I've not yet had the inclination to use it!
Where can I find another thread which features such fantastic subjects gulls; waders and raptors, and all effortlessly captured. The Pallid Harrier flight studies are most impressive, sir!
Would you tell me what paper you're using for the watercolour studies, Alan?
I've mentioned this before but there's no way i can afford to use decent watercolour paper the way I use my sketchbooks. Perhaps the answer is to take a few sheets out and copy the best efforts on to the w/c pad, or has someone already told me this?

Cheers

Russ

Hi Russ,

Been using moleskin pads in A4 and A3, they are a little expensive, though I dont do a great deal of watercolour work in the field, though that is changing now that I have these...
www.moleskin.com

Many thanks to everyone here for the kind comments...
 
I've mentioned this before but there's no way i can afford to use decent watercolour paper the way I use my sketchbooks. Perhaps the answer is to take a few sheets out and copy the best efforts on to the w/c pad, or has someone already told me this?

Cheers

Russ


Russ,

One thing that might work for you if it's available across the pond is Aquabee's Super Deluxe sketchpad. I used to use it both for sketches and watercolor. It's nowhere near as nice a paper as Moleskine but is quite a bit cheaper I think. For me it was a way to try watercolor without being too afraid to put anything down on paper and ruin what I'd just spent good money on. It will buckle after a wash or two but it at least allows you to get a wash or two down without any problems. And you could use it both for sketching and painting. (Didn't mean to hijack your thread Alan but I thought it might be useful to Russ. I do wonder about your Moleskine though. Are you using the sketchpad or the watercolor pad? I've always been disappointed in their 'watercolor' pads and prefer the sketchpads both for sketching and for painting).
 
Russ,

One thing that might work for you if it's available across the pond is Aquabee's Super Deluxe sketchpad. I used to use it both for sketches and watercolor. It's nowhere near as nice a paper as Moleskine but is quite a bit cheaper I think. For me it was a way to try watercolor without being too afraid to put anything down on paper and ruin what I'd just spent good money on. It will buckle after a wash or two but it at least allows you to get a wash or two down without any problems. And you could use it both for sketching and painting. (Didn't mean to hijack your thread Alan but I thought it might be useful to Russ. I do wonder about your Moleskine though. Are you using the sketchpad or the watercolor pad? I've always been disappointed in their 'watercolor' pads and prefer the sketchpads both for sketching and for painting).

Hi Ken,
Been using the moleskin sketch pads for about a year now, like the elastic binder which can be used to hold pages already drawn on, keeping them from flipping in the wind etc. before this I often ended up with drawing haphazardly all over the place, in no particular order as I often took a pad out quickly and drew on the first page that opened.
Have only used the Watercolour moleskins recently on my trip to Vasterbotten, so the Arctic Tern and Temmincks Stint colour work above is on these. I found them fine for fieldwork, though would use heavier paper at home.
The moleskin sketch pads take Watercolour quite well as you have mentioned, the waders above from my outings in Dublin were all done in regular sketch pads...
Probably more important just to get out there and draw and paint with whatever you can afford, if the paper buckles, so be it, it's only fieldwork and the seeing and drawing/painting are the important part.
 
A couple of pages of recent sketches...

Black Grouse and Great Grey Shrike...both from around Stockholm since my reurn back from Georgia, which was the most incredible experience..

Not yet got around to sorting out the fieldwork from Batumi, will try get around to that after the blog is fully updated with the photos and diaries, much of the trip is now there already. After thats done, I will tackle the fieldsketches and notes..
 

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Splendid sketches! And what a treat to follow your blog over the last few weeks. I would give my left arm for an experience like that. Maybe even my right arm.
 
A couple of pages of recent sketches...

Black Grouse and Great Grey Shrike...both from around Stockholm since my reurn back from Georgia, which was the most incredible experience..

Not yet got around to sorting out the fieldwork from Batumi, will try get around to that after the blog is fully updated with the photos and diaries, much of the trip is now there already. After thats done, I will tackle the fieldsketches and notes..

That GG Shrike with the tail up is really magnificent. So much in there that's completely unique to that shrike at that moment.
 
incredible, just incredible. I'll be looking out for the return of Captain Excubitor round here, but doubt I'll see even half of what you've captured here. The grouse is so simple yet so true.
 
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