These studies were done at Mai Po nature reserve in Hong Kong quite a few years ago. Mostly I sketched and painted the few Saunders Gulls that were about but also some Black-headed Gulls.
I did a few watercolor studies too trying all the while to capture their unique characteristics.
These smaller gulls have a certain amount of charm that totally captivated me and I wanted to spend days just working on them!
Looking through some of my sketchbooks recently, I came across a few studies that I thought interesting enough to share here. The female peregrine falcon shown above was moulting into adult plumage. A falconer friend was looking after it for a few days so I sat close by and made these studies. She was initially quite nervous and shivered for awhile until settling down. I added watercolor to some of the drawings which helped show the stage of the moult.
This page was dedicated to starlings in winter when they came down to roost in trees just outside my studio window. Some of them didn't make it through the colder nights so I drew and painted studies of them the next morning while in my hand.
I always enjoy drawing and painting black walnuts. The nut forms inside a green hard outer layer that gradually turns blackish-brown. They usually fall around this time too and I am always picking them up and breaking them open to see inside. When split in half, there is a wonderful shape of an owls head inside!
