Welcome to Nick's dining room table. (1 Viewer)

[nickderry]

Eeeeep!

 

[nickderry]

So I had to start again!

 

[nickderry]

More grebes, bad at keeping promises
Still a lot of finger painting, but the brush and palette are coming back into fashion with me!

 

[timwootton]

Your journey is taking you down some fascinating lanes now Nick. This is a particularly divine piece - excellent composition, somewhat reminiscent of Tunnicliffe (and you know how I feel about that great gentleman) - with what is becoming your trademark vibrancy of colour.
Your bee-eaters - which I haven't yet commented on - are wonderfully well drawn. But, like your forst series of grebes - I actually prefer the first one you deserted. Personal preference and that's not to take away anything from the second piece, which i also like, it's just the edges (or lack of) which appeal to me. It's 'cos I can't work like that!
tremendous pictáures!

 

[ARTHUR BISHOP]

Such vibrant colours , full of life

 

[nickderry]

It's funny you said Tunnicliffe Tim, at one point in the picture I said to myself, 'I'm pretending to be Tunnicliffe'. I agree that he certainly was a master of this odd game of putting birds on paper.

I also agree that I preferred the first bee eaters, until I got so heavy handed with it that I couldn't see a way out, the second one to me has less impact, but is a truer representation of what I saw, with half-painted birds behind blurred in with the background to try and give the impression that they're just darting in from all over. In any case, I breathed a sigh of relief when it was finished!

 

[jomo]

Love the POV on those grebes, Nick. (I think they've spotted me!) And paint as many of 'em as you like -- I'm not tired of them yet!

 

[nickderry]

Here's my output for the weekend so far:

1) a lot of wasted paint on a red-backed shrike
2) start again, much prefer this one!
3) Undecided, I like it purely because it's a yellow wag, though not sure that it's a good picture.

 

[timwootton]

For once, I agree with your choice of 'favourite'. The 2nd shrike is a sensitive and beautifully lit bird, well balanced composition. I'm wondering if this recent technique isn't better suited to 'action' pieces. Could be wrong - have been before.

 

[nickderry]

Not really hard to choose a favourite between the two though to be fair, number one is a big dirty mess!

 

[psilo]

I love the airiness and simplicity of number two. Nice work Nick.

The yellow wagtail for me is just a bombardment of colour that clashes horribly. I really dont like this one. There is no real detail no compositional value and no direction. I find it quite stiffling and I know you can do heaps better. Sorry mate

 

[ARTHUR BISHOP]

I agree the second shrike has it for me to

 

[nickderry]

Quick visit to my local patch this morning (the wooded hill that's teeming with bloody joggers and dog walkers), not a huge amount of interest but a few nice things, a goosander with three chicks on show, the middle spotted woodpeckers feeding large chicks in the nest hole and a singing cirl bunting. The birds are already getting quieter now as summer approaches, hoping that I'll chance across another bonelli's warbler soon, only heard one today in a bunch of trees that I couldn't get near to.

 

[timwootton]

Although the whole group of drawings is super, the goosander sketch is absolutely brilliant - great, natural composition and fluid, sensitive linework. Masterly!

 

[spizaetos]

Nick, Bravo:clap: :clap: :clap:
These are really superb!!
I'll agree with Tim, the Goosander family is also my favorite!
Show us more please!


Spizaetos

www.dougalis-art.com

 

[buzzard12]

As said already the Goosanders are superb. Wonderful loose sketch, a real gem.

 

[ARTHUR BISHOP]

I have to agree the Goosanders have it for me

 

[nickderry]

Have been busy this weekend, decided not to go out birding as the French weather forecast was rain all day - which it wasn't! So stayed in and had a day of painting, getting more and more frustrated with waiting for paint to dry and things not looking right and wishing that I was Lars Jonsson or Bruce Pearson or anybody else, so here are the pics:

The goosanders were finished a few days ago, and the middle spots were finished yesterday, the purple sandpipers was started at about 11pm last night in a sort of homesick 'want to go mad and splash paint and go home and get drunk in my old haunts' sort of moment. It was finished at about 1am (takes ages for so much water to dry!).

I seem to be having a period where I'm fed up with my pictures, I really hope to get some new and exciting sketches turned into new and exciting paintings soon.

 

[buzzard12]

Have been busy this weekend, decided not to go out birding as the French weather forecast was rain all day - which it wasn't! So stayed in and had a day of painting, getting more and more frustrated with waiting for paint to dry and things not looking right and wishing that I was Lars Jonsson or Bruce Pearson or anybody else, so here are the pics:

The goosanders were finished a few days ago, and the middle spots were finished yesterday, the purple sandpipers was started at about 11pm last night in a sort of homesick 'want to go mad and splash paint and go home and get drunk in my old haunts' sort of moment. It was finished at about 1am (takes ages for so much water to dry!).

I seem to be having a period where I'm fed up with my pictures, I really hope to get some new and exciting sketches turned into new and exciting paintings soon.

Goosanders are great, like the nice simple colour scheme and that lovely warm brown/ochre that runs trough it. You stayed true to the field sketch, I like that. The young look beautifully soft, as they should.
Second middle spot is the best for me, if only due to the more acurate green foliage for the time of year. Purple Sandpipers are lovely.

You've put out a huge amount of work recently Nick, so perhaps you are a little tired of it all. I for one have enjoyed all of your recent work tremendously, there are some wonderful paintings here over the last few weeks.

Perhaps a little treat for yourself in the form off a wee trip to see something special is whats required!

 

[nickderry]

Perhaps a little treat for yourself in the form off a wee trip to see something special is whats required!

so not the bottle of dooley's that just disappeared?! It's awful, painting is such an addiction that despite being fed up of it, I'm now painting crag martins instead of preparing my lessons for tomorrow, I think maybe tomorrow will be 'Bonjour children, today we're going to revise everything in your exercise books!'

Trip out would be what I need to do, only one month of work left then I'm on the dole for 3! Yippee