Little Owl in Mixed Media

'Little Owl'

Mixed media on drafting film

As a complete change from the cats I've started working on one of my older paintings that I've ignored for a considerable time.
I'm using coloured pencil and acrylic on drafting film.
I see a little owl most evenings when I take Clinton a walk down the lane, unfortunately it usually sees me first and hides in the middle of the bush it likes to sit next to.
The curlews are also back, I usually see between 2 and 4 walking about searching the ground or flying over the fields. I love the haunting cry of the curlew especially when you get several all crying at once.

Creating A Still Life - For the Birds

The above photograph shows my arrangement for taking more natural reference photographs
of the birds that visit my garden.
I don't like working from photographs of birds on feeders unless I'm just looking at colour or a particular detail so I decided to prepare a more natural resting place.

While out walking the dogs I kept a look out for a nice fallen branch, preferably one that had some moss on it. The one pictured above was ideal so my OH carried it back to the car. We had to put it on the back seat because Cody would have chewed on it during the drive home if we'd put it in the back with her. Although we carefully checked that we weren't taking any small creatures with us we spent the short drive home hoping that nothing was leaving the log to take up residence in the car.

To make the log more attractive to the birds my OH drilled several holes in the top of it which I filled with a mixture of fat and seeds.
I then pushed one end in the hedge and fastened the other end to the rail of the decking just under the feeders.
Although the birds were wary at first they now walk up and down my set up quite happily which gives me great photo opportunities.

More Birds

A big thank you to all the people who have purchased my step-by-step of Poppy.

I decided to have a break from printing last night and went to see if the hares were about. The crops in the fields are now quite high and all I saw were a couple of pairs of ears in the distance.

However the place I go to see them is the haunt of several pairs of Red Kite.

Last night there were at least seven gliding over the trees and swooping down low.

I also got some nice photographs of a Yellowhammer, a bird I haven't seen for years.

Local Birds 17/04/2011

A selection of birds I saw yesterday either in the garden or on my walk.

I'm not sure what the first bird is, I think it's a Willow Warbler but if anyone thinks differently please let me know.

The second is a Pied Wagtail which is one of my favourite birds.

The third is a Goldfinch, one of several that visit the garden each day.

The last bird is a Little Owl, which is one of a pair that I see when I walk the dogs down a lane near home. I got up especially early yesterday hoping to photograph the owls before most other people were about. It isn't the best photograph but I was pleased with it, I managed to snap it just as the sun was rising.

I can now paint a Little Owl from my own photograph which is great because I want to paint an Owl series.

Spring Walk

I had a nice walk this morning. The sky was black in the West but blue in the East and there was a beautiful rainbow. Apart from a drop or two the rain never materialised. The birds were out in force including several species of tit, a fleeting glimpse of a Green Woodpecker and several Curlews. The best photograph I shot was this Dunnock because I like the colours in the blurred background. I haven't touched up in photoshop, just cropped in on the bird. There were plenty of lambs and rabbits in the fields but I'm still looking for the elusive hare. I really want to paint a hare from my own reference material but so far I've only spotted them in the distance at dusk. At least with the lighter nights there is more time for searching.

Back From Scotland

'The Right Side'

I've now returned from my short holiday in Scotland with some nice reference photos for future artwork including the buzzard shown above.

On my return I was absolutely delighted to find that 'The Right Side' won the Making a Mark Award for Best Picture of the Year (Natural World) on an Art Blog and was runner up for Best Picture of the Year on an Art Blog. Karen Jurick's wonderful painting 'Hands of Time' won the overall award, congratulations to Karen as this is the second year she has won the award.
This is the link to the awards on the Making a Mark blog

I'll be back tomorrow with my plans for 2011.

Fox and Kingfisher

I'm starting to build some depth in the coat with layers of acrylic, still a long way to go. I'll add some glazes next.

Yesterday I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to capture a pair of Kingfishers with my camera. I've never before been close enough to get usable photographs, yesterday I got around 100. Some are a little blurred but all are usable. Here are a couple.

Crowned Crane

I went in search of some young Tawny Owls today, I didn't see them but I did see this beautiful Crowned Crane. I couldn't resist photographing it for future reference, I can't wait to paint that hairstyle.

I also took some nice photographs of Black Tailed Godwits, the males look really showy in their Summer plumage, they're one of my favourite birds.

Red Kites in Yorkshire

I went to a Game Fair at Harewood House today. Harewood is about 30 minutes from where I live and I always enjoy a visit because Red Kites are usually visible gliding overhead.

The Yorkshire Red Kite project began in 1999 and has been highly successful. Many chicks have been successfully reared and the Kite is now a common sight in the area. Today was no exception, in fact we got spectacular views of a couple of birds. This one will be appearing in a painting in the future.

More Kitten

Continuing to work on the kitten, this is all that fits on the scanner.

I have been wanting to take some photographs of a male mallard for a painting. The local duck population must have heard so this morning a pair decided to audition for me. My husband was not impressed with finding the garden pond playing host to them. They did not leave the water in the same condition that they found it.

The Jay

My bird for today is the Jay. These birds are quite shy so I was pleased to get some nice photographs of a pair of them in a local wood.

I will have an update of my art tomorrow, I'm just too tired to photograph or scan it tonight.

Dipper

The bird for the day is a Dipper which I photographed on the river near home yesterday.

Hopefully back later to share some artwork.

Pheasant and Phantom Pregnancy

It was a nice sunny afternoon so I decided to have a quick tour of the local lanes to see if I could get some photographs of Curlews. I can hear them from the garden, I love their long bubbling song as they glide above the fields.

On my way up to the moor I spotted a Pheasant standing on a wall in the sunlight. He allowed me to get near enough to rest my camera on a wall and we enjoyed a ten minute photo shoot.

I will definitely be painting this one.

Back home Roma is having a phantom pregnancy, she has adopted a burst football which emits a horrible squeal when she picks it up. Trouble is she picks it up, drops it in horror when it squeaks, looks horrified that it rolls away, so picks it up again. This has been repeated all day except for the few minutes when she hides it and forgets where it's been hidden. Then we all have to rush round finding it because she stands there crying, very, very loudly. Roxie asked for earplugs, Clinton has retired upstairs, Juno is sharing childcare and Rio is going to kill her.

Burmese Cat in Coloured Pencil

I've started another in the 2009 cat series.
I took the photograph of this beautiful male Burmese in quite strong sunshine so the light on him is nice.

It is quite large, around 16 x 12 on Arches hot press. This time I'm burnishing between layers as he has such a dense plush coat.

I haven't started the eyes because I intend to do a mini demonstration showing how I complete them.

We visited Martin Mere again yesterday because I was hoping to see the Kingfishers. Sure enough they were visible round the hole they are hopefully going to nest in. I couldn't take any good photographs as the windows in the hide have been nailed shut to minimise disturbance. Once the birds have settled the windows should be opened again.

It was still a wonderful experience to watch these birds starting to excavate their nest hole.

I did take some nice photographs of a Heron in the sun.

Avocets and the Mallard

The Avocets are back at Martin Mere so we decided to have a trip to see them. First though we visited RSPB Marshside which is a mile from Southport to see if I could spot the Black Tailed Godwits. I've never seen Godwits but had been told that they were easy to see at Marshside. Not only did I see the Godwits but right in front of the hide were two Avocets posing for the camera. We also saw a Snipe and 2 Little Egrets which made up for the extremely cold wind blowing in our faces the whole time at Martin Mere. The hide at Marshside was nice and warm, with comfortable chairs and windows at a really convenient height for photography.

I'm continuing working on my female mallard but will post an update on the cats soon. I've added the touch of blue on the wing and a little colour on the breast feathers.

I'm still not sure if Roxie is in whelp but I am leaning towards thinking she is, she certainly thinks she is.

Bird of the Day - Goldcrest

Not much progress on the art today but I did get a great photograph of the Goldcrest that visits the garden. For once I was in the right place with my camera. This will definitely appear in a painting at some stage.

Nuthatch

Today's bird is a Nuthatch which I photographed yesterday. The sun appeared briefly so the light on the bird was quite good. I'm definitely going to include him/her in a future painting.

Today we've been at the first dog show of the year. Roxie had to stay at home because she's in season and we would have been better leaving Juno at home as well. His mind was definitely not on showing, it had been left at home with Roxie and Roma (who's also in season).

It was nice catching up with our friends though and looking at this years puppies.

Goldcrest and Stoat in Coloured Pencil

I've started drawing my stoat from the photograph I took in Scotland.

So far all French Grey on Arches Hot Press paper, 20 x 8. I am going to paint the stoat in full colour to provide a bright splash.

Todays bird is a Goldcrest which visited the garden several times, it only stays for a couple of minutes each visit so I was lucky to catch it in a good pose.

Tree Sparrow

We're off to Scotland this morning to welcome in 2009, hopefully I'll get some sketching done and have some new photographs to share.

I'm taking my laptop and mobile internet connection so I might post before 2009, then again I might not. If not I wish you all a Happy New Year .

I'll leave you with a Tree Sparrow I photographed on Saturday at Mere Sands Wood.

Jack Russell in Coloured Pencil and a Treecreeper

Now that Christmas Day is over I can share some of my commission work.

This Jack Russell was a pleasure to draw she had such a sweet little face. Plus I took the photographs which made it easier as I'd seen her personality.

The owner asked that I use French Grey coloured pencil with colour for the eyes, the same technique I've used for cats.

It's on Arches hot press watercolour paper.

My bird of the day is this Treecreeper which was attracted to the fat we've rubbed in the bark of one of the Silver Birches.

It's not the sharpest of photographs but I was so excited my hands were shaking. This is not a common visitor to our garden.