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

[buzzard12]

These are super water colours Nick

Watercolours are up to your usual standard, seriously nice work. The field sketches have it all. Great work, the Tufties are just the *"¤*!

 

[nickderry]

I think I'm going to have to start sleeping in the afternoons, then I can paint all night and still go birding in the mornings, just crawled out of bed and I was going to take the bike out again this morning, despite my achey achey legs. Oh well, at least I got something done last night, I revisited an old pied flycatcher that had gone wrong and attacked it with oil pastel and acrylic, using it like scraperboard to give the effect of flailed branches - rest assured anyone that remembers the watercolour I posted of this, it's fine, this was painted over an incomplete earlier version that was hideous. Also going to go for a redo of the pair of dunnocks on brambles, lots of newspaper down, don't know where I'm going with this one, I can see it in my head but it's not happenng that way on paper. Oh, also some sketches from yesterday.

 

[dryslwyn]

All amazing again Nick- my favorite is that flycatcher - the colours and texture
are just gorgeous!

 

[buzzard12]

Managed to miss this Nick, really like the Pied Fly, love the contrasting textures between the drier work and the more fluid watercolur. The bird itself is really well treated and sits in the comp just right...
Sketches are crackers, as always and the newspaper brambles look great, shall await progress with interest...
What type of glue are you using for these collages? (you must get through a lot of it...) Have an idea for a collage of Three Toed Pecker floating around my head the last ten days, was wondering whether paste or glue was the way forward...

 

[nickderry]

Managed to miss this Nick, really like the Pied Fly, love the contrasting textures between the drier work and the more fluid watercolur. The bird itself is really well treated and sits in the comp just right...
Sketches are crackers, as always and the newspaper brambles look great, shall await progress with interest...
What type of glue are you using for these collages? (you must get through a lot of it...) Have an idea for a collage of Three Toed Pecker floating around my head the last ten days, was wondering whether paste or glue was the way forward...

I just use cheap PVA glue watered down, and then use an old brush for gluing. 3-toed collage sounds like an excellent idea, now, make sure you get some glue and get it done!

 

[ARTHUR BISHOP]

Superb work again Nick

 

[nickderry]

I had a quick visit today to sketch the captive animals in the forest, hereare some young fallow deer, a red deer stag, and wild boar. There were about 40 hawfinches in the trees, only this one coming down to drink stayed long enough to be sketched. If you look hard enough at my mammals you'll see why I don't draw them very often, as they end up looking like dogs, cows or marionette puppets. I might paint up the bambis though.

 

[nickderry]

here's the rest

 

[peter mathios]

The flycatcher is NICE!! as are the sketches... I'm not really seeing the puppet comparison. they look great to me!

 

[timwootton]

Very refreshing to see the choice of subject matter and totally non-puppet-like to me eyes. All are wonderfully observed but there are two absolute stand-out drawings simply aching for a trim and a frame - the first rearview deer and the bottom left scrofa profile. Delectable.

 

[dryslwyn]

Agree with all the above- your artistic talent shines through in these sketches- even though they may be abit outside your comfort zone. From where I'm looking you have really captured the 'essence' ( must be a better word) of the subjects.

 

[buzzard12]

Or those new-romantic, Llewellyn-Bowen lacey shirt-cuffs?????

I say, bit below the belt old chap!

 

[nickderry]

You're right that these are out of my comfort zone, which is why I need to practice them a bit more. I suppose there'd be no fun in it if I didn't push myself.
At the moment I'm trying to simplify my pictures more, Sébastien has told me he doesn't like how every bit of the paper is filled with 'frenetic scribbling' all trying to grab attention, and I agree with him. So now I'm trying to compose pictures with large 'unfinished' areas. So here are some Dunnocks, which is gouache over newspaper.

 

[buzzard12]

I had a quick visit today to sketch the captive animals in the forest, hereare some young fallow deer, a red deer stag, and wild boar. There were about 40 hawfinches in the trees, only this one coming down to drink stayed long enough to be sketched. If you look hard enough at my mammals you'll see why I don't draw them very often, as they end up looking like dogs, cows or marionette puppets. I might paint up the bambis though.

Have looked hard at these Nick, must be miising something because they are truly lovely. My mammals always end up a mess, particularily around the legs, always seem to end up looking like Mark Hughes! The rear view fawn, as Tim poited out, is a peach.
That Hawfinch is a pearl to, a great sketch, the form and face are bang on....

 

[buzzard12]

You're right that these are out of my comfort zone, which is why I need to practice them a bit more. I suppose there'd be no fun in it if I didn't push myself.
At the moment I'm trying to simplify my pictures more, Sébastien has told me he doesn't like how every bit of the paper is filled with 'frenetic scribbling' all trying to grab attention, and I agree with him. So now I'm trying to compose pictures with large 'unfinished' areas. So here are some Dunnocks, which is gouache over newspaper.

...and that, posted while I was commenting on your mammals is just wonderful Nick. A total success, could look at it all day!

 

[cjoakley]

I don't see anything puppet-like either Nick - very good sketches and I enjoyed looking through your blog...seems to me you are quite daring enough to stretch yourself - looking forward to seeing more from beyond the comfort zone!

 

[Andrew Ellis]

Nick these are all masterful and personally your pictures never seem cluttered.

The Flycatcher is just simply perfect!
don't change.

 

[ARTHUR BISHOP]

Love the hedgies Nick

 

[nickderry]

Here's my last bit of output for a few days, back to the UK tomorrow to visit family. Great Tits are from last week, the yellow waggy is a redo of one from last year, and the gulls and stuff is a redo of one from 4 years ago.

 

[timwootton]

You never post anything that doesn't immediately attract the eye and, following the initial wow! of surprise, asks the viewer to take a 'proper' look - this is certainly true with these latest pics (the painting in the 2nd GT image is just totally commanding and the way you've rendered the 'clocks' in the first has the illusion of complete buoyancy). Love the gulls - the daw is a cracker with that glint and the BH sets the pic up beautifully BUT my absolute fav is the YellowWag. It's just got the lot. Lovely drawing and superbly crafted - really rather bl00dy good!