If you want to draw birds from life then this book is a good place to start.
Drawing Birds by John Busby
Paperback: 144 pages
Publisher: Christopher Helm Publishers Ltd; 2nd ed edition (19 Jul 2004)
Available from Amazon
The book is written by John Busby who has been drawing birds for over 60 years. He was born in 1928 and studied at Leeds and Edinburgh Colleges of Art.
As well as his own paintings the book contains work from 37 other bird artists, many of them members of the Society of Wildlife Artists. Most of the artwork included are drawings made on the spot.
The book is split into 7 chapters including:-
Birds in Water
Birds in the Bush
Birds in the Air
Each chapter is beautifully illustrated with examples from a wide range of artists who work from life.
The book is not about a photo realistic approach, rather about achieving drawings that have character and life. For anyone who wants to understand the birds they are painting or drawing then I have no hesitation in recommending this book.
Links
- SWLA - Society of Wildlife Artists
- John Busby - examples of his work
- Drawing Birds by John Busby
5 comments:
I KNEW you would have something like this. Looks like I need to get my order book out!
Does he have anything useful to say about how to stop the heron flying away before you've even got your sketchbook out? ;)
It's great to get book reviews from artist bloggers. I have returned a number of books to amazon which looked good from the title, but when I looked through them, they did not offer me any new information. My favorite book is Jeanne Dobie's "Making Colors Sing" which I reviewed a while back on my blog.
Jean
I do think you'd like this one Katherine. His tip to stop birds flying away, use tinted rather than white paper and wear appropriately coloured clothing.
I know what you mean Jean, I've been disappointed by several books bought after reading the blurb online.
My next review will be one that showcases a more photo realistic approach.
Gayle thanks for the review. I'll be adding this to my Amazon wish list.
Thanks for reviewing this one, Gayle. I have been eyeing it up for a while but wasn't sure if it was any good. Like Watercolourist I have been disappointed by some art books bought online so reviews are always helpful.
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