From Tim Wootton's Studio (2 Viewers)

[Strandman]

Fine harriers- I especially like the effect on overall atmosphere from the very smooooth n big distant background.

 

[mosca]

I've got to say a late, fantastic picture to your Coming In Over The Skerries: Eiders". You really are a master of sea. In so many types of medium too.

 

[Andrew Ellis]

Tim, wonderful work as usual. The Harriers looks fantastic and the Little Gull sketches are
just exquisite. I was real saddened to see that magnificent SE owl hung up like that.

Barbed wire is one of the worst inventions of a long string of worst inventions that so
called civilized man is responsible for. the amount of birds and other animals that
suffer as a result of our so called management of the countryside appalls me.

I lost my last Falcon to wire fencing so its personal when I see stuff like that.

On a more cheery note its good to catch up with everyone's threads after a long
absence fro the forum . Some top class work from everyone as usual.

 

[timwootton]

A small sea study, either in prep for a larger piece or awaiting the addition of, perhaps a peregrine or a couple of oiks.
A titchy oil painting, 14"x10". Quite a fiddly medium, but always fun to work with.

 

[Apodemus]

Absolutely beautiful, even without the fauna.

Mike

 

[desgreene]

Certainly very nice so far. Love the lighting, and you really do capture the power of the surf brilliantly (as usual!).

 

[ARTHUR BISHOP]

you can see the enjoyment in the pic Tim. awaiting to see what may appear.

 

[nickderry]

I've got no words for this so I'll borrow U2's "Even better than the real thing". How do you get the foam so foamy without ending up plastering everything in white? (By not plastering everything in white I suppose, answered my own question there!)

 

[EliS]

Oooh, the harriers are beautiful! Seeing them makes me wait for spring and the time these splendid raptors arrive. And the sealandscape and eiders... Well, it's beyond me how anyone can handle water on canvas so well. Marvelous.

Elina

 

[spizaetos]

This wave interpretation has no equal Tim!

Paschalis

 

[timwootton]

Oh bliss! - A reprieve from the winter - sun and warmth, and shag haued out on the next pier preening and seemingly unconcerned by the riotous kids (our two and the next-doors grand-kids). An opportunity to have a glass by the sea and make a scribble or two. Plus an eider from a couple of days ago.

 

[nickderry]

Ha - I read the post wrong at first! My puerile mind! But this is a great exploration of the geometry of our dear phalacrocorax aristotelis, a superb bird that I haven't seen for way too long now. I agree the sun and warmth are very welcome - my mood has come out of semi-depressive where it had been hibernating all through the grey weather!

 

[Woody]

Oops, me too! There's nothing much can beat a shag on the pier...

And the sketches catch it perfectly along with the eider which is something very special.

Amazing surf.

I couldn't agree more about the return of the sun, it felt like spring here on saturday. Sadly we're back to the grey today.

Mike

 

[timwootton]

There has been a couple of intriguing reports of snowy owls in the Isles recently, but none has been subsantiated. 'Til now, that is.
Paul Hollinrake has just posted a report of a superb female snowy having an altercation with a cock pheasant - and it was on the island which I first lived on when I came to Orkney several years ago - Shapinsay. But, far more interesting (and in many ways frustrating) is the fact that it (the bird) was observed enjoying the fields around the farm of Parkhall - the property we used to b100dy-well own!!!!!
So, kids and transport permitting, I'm off to my old house tomorrow to try and catch sight of this stunning bird. The good thing about Shapinsay is - if the bird is there, we'll find it; there is really very little cover for a big white bird to hide in on Shap.
So - watch this space for either a) a delighted, snowed-up, sketched-out, mind-blown report of a wonderful encounter, or b) (more likely) my miserable, ascerbic ramblings of why I couldn't get to the island, punctuated with unpronouncble expletives.
Meanwhile - I'm working on this little (14"x10") oil, based on a trip during the 2008 seabird count around Hoy. A bit to go yet and the pic is very poor. Honest.

 

[Strandman]

The last couple of oils have been terrific. There's a colder blue worked into the rear rock in oil #2 which is really eye-catching from where I sit.

 

[buzzard12]

As always, these scenes are tremendous, brilliant oils. Adore the light in the last post, just evokes summer evenings so much...
Shags are brilliant, major rare here they are, only see them when I get back home to Dublin these days..

Best of luck with the Snowy Owl. Have been fortunate to see them in Canada, one hell of a bird, indeed, a major highlight of mine, hope you get to see yours, they are all that and more....(remember, old plastic fertilizer bags are not tickable, even in Snowy pose...
For my own part travelling for a male Three Toed Pecker tomorrow, will get back and compare notes with you on Sunday Tim!

 

[timwootton]

Cheers Ed, Alan. Good luck with the 3-tw.
Managed to get to Shapinsay and enjoyed a sloshy wet trudge over clifftop bogs and moorland with fine views of hunting harriers and wheeling fulmar - but no snowy owl. Boo.
Have just about completed this little oil - I had thoughts of more birds and even had a fishing boat in the scene at one point, but they looked to me to distract from the scene and I'll leave this be for now.
The colours are way off, but the idea is there.

 

[Andrew H]

I like the silence of the one bird passing through, with the water fall cascading in the distance.....

 

[timwootton]

Here's Paul's record shot of the snowy owl - taken the night before last.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Orkbi...=medium&mode=tn&order=ordinal&start=1&dir=asc

 

[timwootton]

This piece will have a pair of bonxies displaying on the nearest clifftop (The Kist).
This is the blocking-in stage just about finished in acrylics - I'm going to now work over it in oils.
A long way to go.