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From the sketchbook... (2 Viewers)

There's just something about this piece that warms my heart. The tones are wonderful and the little lad is just divine. Another absolute cracker Alan - really well done.
 
Love this painting as stated in the gallery comments... are the gulls still on your mind? Looking forward to that one too.


Gulls still floating about in there, just had to get another painting out of the way first, being looking forward to doing a watercolour Black Throated Diver all week! (working on it now, going well so far)
 
Love the wheatear Alan. Nick hit the nail on the head with the contrast of rough background and smooth bird. The smoothness of wheatears is one of their best features and the contrast brings it out beautifully.

Looking forward to the gulls and diver too! Everyone is being so productive at the mo.

Woody
 
Black-throated Diver, Watercolour sketch. Limited myself to just a few minutes on the water to keep it loose. Very tempted to go back at some stage in the future and do a large, well planned watercolour of this species...
 

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What a little beauty, superb tonal depth in the bird and what a character. And of course, the fact that Blackthroats are one of the best birds in the world is just another plus.
 
Have been spending time around Skeppsholmen and Djurgarden, two coastal parks close to the city centre. Not a huge variety of species, though plenty of Tree Sparrows and some Mealy Redpolls present feeding around some bird tables providing great opportunities to sketch. All these over the last four days. Again not much light to photograph the sketches, have had to use artificial light here at home...
Mealy Redpolls here, along with a group of three Mealies with two Greenfinch...
 

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Tree Sparrows, best of the sketches taken here...
 

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Great Tits at same location.

Coot at Stockholm Ström from yesterday, really happy with this one.

Common Gull resting on drifting ice rather amused me as it drifted slowly past!
 

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you've been busy, absolutely love the sparrows and the redpolls (love all of them, but have a soft spot for tree sparrows). Looking forward with anticipation to see some of these become colour work.
 
you've been busy, absolutely love the sparrows and the redpolls (love all of them, but have a soft spot for tree sparrows). Looking forward with anticipation to see some of these become colour work.

May well work the sparrows up in colour.

Also have these Goosanders to work up as well, one of those occasions where you come across a painting in the field, if you know what I mean.

Toying around with another one incorparating the Common Gull on ice along with either the Coot above or some Tufted Ducks and Coots from these sketches, which are a lot rougher but have given me a number of ideas.
 

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I almost get the feeling that most of us here on the artforum have been silently waiting for this latest traunche of fieldwork from you. Very pleased to say that I'm sure no-one will be disappointed!
Love the footless featherballs in the first and the rear view id sketch is extremeley enlightening. The structure of the bird is expressed perfectly in the next, slightly angular drawing (probably my favourite).
The compositional finch sketch is demanding a coloured approach. The tree sparrows depict their character to a tee and there's at least a couple more full scale paintings from the final 3 drawings.
Top work Alan - just brimming with quality.
Excellent.
 
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Plenty of stuff to keep you occupied here, I know exactly what you mean about finding a painting in the field. I'll spend ages looking for something to sketch that's already composed. Those goosanders are just begging to be painted.
 
More from Skeppsholmen. Went for Redpolls as I wanted more sketches of them feeding on the ground, but none present. Lesser Spotted Pecker was a nice bonus, a male too. Sketches here along with one of a Nuthatch...
 

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Cormorant, Goosanders, male and female at rest.
 

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