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Rockfowl's Eclectic Mix / Travels with Mark Andrews (1 Viewer)

Just messing around with a few ideas from a recent trip to China with RussB. There was a wonderful collection of wagtails that dropped in one day including a stunning male Citrine together with lots of Eastern Yellow including the fabulous Green-headed taivana. The lighting, once we'd positioned ourselves was incredible and at times the stillness created an almost perfect 'mirror' to the feeding birds. Thought it would make an interesting painting so have been 'playing' with ideas, shapes and composition. Here a few from this weekend..
 

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Thanks Phil!

By coincidence today I was trying to work out when I last attempted Citrine Wagtail and found one of my old Polish sketchbooks, so here are a few familiar faces' - small world, some of these I also saw in China.
 

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I'm stunned! Having watched these very same birds, this puts them in whole new light. I may just have to take the citrine waggy off your hands if it's for sale.
Makes me wonder why I bother!

Russ
 
The Polish sketches are stunning in their simplicity and honesty. Also very beautiful. That log cabin is tremendous. All very evocative of a land I miss. Marvellous!

ps Just noticed annotation on cabin drawing. I've also been to Lake Siemianowka, on the Belarus border. Massive! Saw my first European Wild Cat near there. Sitting on a train track in the evening sun! (The Cat, not me!:cat:)
 
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I'm stunned! Having watched these very same birds, this puts them in whole new light. I may just have to take the citrine waggy off your hands if it's for sale.
Makes me wonder why I bother!

Russ

Don't be daft, it's a lot easier with a 6B and a big brush ;) Remember I also have the benefit of the film I took, although wobbly, full of useful refs, particularly reflections!

The log cabin is actually the train station, Cisowka Junction ;) with nesting Black Woody and Sprosser.

I remember seeing Ruff lekking beside the lake, visually stunning, I would love to watch another good performance some time soon I hope.
 

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The Polish sketches are stunning in their simplicity and honesty. Also very beautiful. That log cabin is tremendous. All very evocative of a land I miss. Marvellous!

ps Just noticed annotation on cabin drawing. I've also been to Lake Siemianowka, on the Belarus border. Massive! Saw my first European Wild Cat near there. Sitting on a train track in the evening sun! (The Cat, not me!:cat:)

It is a wonderful area, like going back in time, the lake is a massive draw for migrating birds as well as having many local specialities.
 
well eff me! absolutely blown away by all these - wow, and again wow - I'm off to have a stiff drink and try and slap a wryneck into half as good a shape as one or two here!
 
Am i allowed to say 'wow'...? ;)

Jeeez....[am tempted to swear in my native fowl-tonque...but i won't]...these are really really excellent Mark...:t:

So many good paintings/sketches there that i won't have time to comment on them all...so...off the top of me silly head...post 64 the peckerthing sketch...[what species is that then]....? Oh..and i don't know...basically all the citrines......'top notch' as some say......B :)

see you when i do.......

ps...ain't looked on my thread yet:eek!:...just got back from getting soaked down to me little rohan socks in the field.....blimey...how wet can one idiot birder get...?!
Got some interesting images tho...will post em in a bit...messed up with all the 'usual' rubbish i expect...[ha]...!
 
...so...off the top of me silly head...post 64 the peckerthing sketch...[what species is that then]....?

That peckerthing, well it's all Black and in Poland ;)

Though you might be 'out in that mother of all rain showers' :eek!:

and Cheers Nick.
 
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picking my jaw off the floor here, amazing and instructive to see, but the yellow ones are like being in bird art heaven....
 
That peckerthing, well it's all Black and in Poland ;)

Though you might be 'out in that mother of all rain showers' :eek!:

and Cheers Nick.

Chuckle...!...i had just skim read the posts and only 'registered' the destination china in my head...then i was just lookin at the pics...it's your fault.....illustrations too good i reckon....:smoke:

ps...hey...i've got a 'get out of mis-identification cock-up' free card to play...i am ill.....[and don't you just know it]...

pps...Yeah..ill...and un-attentive more like.....:smoke:
 
Mark,

What can I say that hasn't already been said. Your sketches/watercolours are amazing in there simplicity, beautifull to look at, acurate in the shape & colour & with a Jizz that makes you believe they are going to walk/swim/fly off the page. Simply stunning.

ATB, Neil.
 
Mark,

What can I say that hasn't already been said. Your sketches/watercolours are amazing in there simplicity, beautifull to look at, acurate in the shape & colour & with a Jizz that makes you believe they are going to walk/swim/fly off the page. Simply stunning.

ATB, Neil.

can but whole heartily agree superb.
 
Really not much to say that hasn't already been said. The ruffs in particular strike me, but then so does the woodpecker and just about everything else, including the new studies of the wagtails. I do look forward to seeing the end result of them. Should be spectacular!
 
Thanks folks, you are all too kind |8.|

These are for Russ (and anybody else) as he was asking about B/W techniques whilst in China recently. I'm sure many on here have been asked to do various illustrations, some commercial, some quickies for free/conservation/charity... you know what I mean.

Anyway, a few here, quickly and poorly :smoke: photographed.

The first few, pure pen and ink, rotoring style, though the thinner they are the more tendency they have to block up :C
You also have to generally hold them fairly vertical and I've found the shinier ie hot press paper is better.

The last two, adding brushed ink directly onto the work, much quicker!
 

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and these using watered down Ink in layers, like watercolour, most here are actually much bigger than actual size, I tend to work at 1.5 sometimes 2 up for publication.
These are generally published about the size of a christmas stamp!

The frog is an Ink and Charcoal that was then screenprinted, I like it hence the inclusion here, as there are no rules in art......hey User ;)
 

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