COMMON BUZZARD- UK

This painting is the second in the series of flying birds in a landscape. The scene here is on the outskirts of Bude in Cornwall where I was brought up. Looking up the valley between the river and the canal, we can see the sun breaking through a misty sky and gently lighting up the distant hills leading up to the moors. I had spent a lot of time here as a boy looking for birds and rowing the canal in a rented boat. Buzzards were often seen and I also found a nest. Checking back through the breeding season, I watched as the eggs were laid and brooded, (later one disappeared - perhaps taken by an egg collector) then the chick hatched, fledged then finally left the nest. All in all quite a wonderful experience!
After doing an earlier painting of the same valley, I did this one slightly differently and kept the bird small as this is so often the way that you see birds (especially birds of prey as they have been so heavily persecuted in the past and so are wary). The field was built up with many washes of color alternating mostly between yellow and green. I also wanted some similarities between this painting and the earlier Rough-legged Buzzard in Minnesota that was in my last post - both show the landscape in early winter but in the south of England as shown here, the weather is so much milder and grass is still green at this time. Both painting show similar birds at home in the landscape they occupy and it is interesting how when travelling all over the world like I do, that I find so often these self same similarities. The watercolor is 7.5" X 11". SOLD.

ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD - MN

A few years ago I went to Minnesota in the hope of seeing Rough-legged Buzzards and Golden Eagles - both of which had escaped me for years. Fortunately I was able to add them to my life list and now feel free to paint them in any way I wish. The adult Rough-legged seen here was just a bird in a landscape as I didn't have my scope with me at the time so it simply became a passing moment in time. Still it was a significant one all the same and this is what I tried to capture in this painting. The time is early winter with snow already on the ground and another snow cloud just beginning to drop moisture heading in from the right. At this point it is just verga but this will be the first of many snowstorms of what is normally a long and hard winter.
Birds in flight are the hardest to do well and there are not many artist in the past who have done it. Thornburn was a typical example, as although his perched birds are quite fabulous, the ones he did in flight just don't look quite right. George Lodge was better but still not quite there. My favorite has to be Bruno Liljefors with Lars Jonsson a close second. Liljefors' eagles in flight are masterpieces with all the careful observation of not only the correct details but more importantly, the correct wing and body positions. I have long been an admirer of his and Lars Jonsson paintings who has also done some amazing work - a quick look through his 'Birds of Europe' field guide (especially the raptors section) - shows equally careful observation with completely natural looking birds in flight. So much so in fact that when I am looking at flying raptors myself, I am often reminded of him!
Now a days we have the benefit of high-speed photography which does help a lot in creating paintings but I have still seen some very strange poses! Really there is no better way than just getting out there and observing birds in their natural surroundings. I find it helpful to follow the bird through my binoculars then put down my impressions from memory. Often a certain pose will stick in my mind and that's the one I'll try and develop to a finished drawing. At this point, I'm not worried about details as photos can usually help with that, I'm just trying to get down the most accurate drawings that I can. To this end, I have started a series of birds in flight in the hope of reaching two goals; 1, getting better at painting flying birds and 2, creating some different and hopefully more interesting paintings. This most recent watercolor is 7.5" X 11". SOLD.

ASIAN PEAR

I found this Asian pear at a local Asian market and liked its slightly odd shape. So I bought it (and a few others) then took them home to paint. Oil or watercolor??? Hmm....... In the end, I decided to do it in watercolor using smooth Arches paper as a support. With a careful under drawing pencilled in, I laid on some warm background washes first then when that had dried started on the pear. I used mostly lemon yellow plus raw and burnt sienna slowly building up the correct depth of color. It took some time to get the true colors and tones (especially the shadow area) but eventually it was done. After some thought I decided to leave it just as it was - a simple representation of a delicious fruit. Size is 7.5" X 11".

NENE

I found this Nene (or Hawaiian Goose) at the Washington DC Zoo and was captivated by it's interesting plumage. Broad feather fringes on the wings and back were reverse-patterned on its breast and flanks with soft warm tones on the head and neck contrasting sharply against the dark head. I liked the way that when the bird tucked it's bill into the scapulars, gaps opened up on the neck feathers creating interesting patterns so that is how I painted it. Most zoo animals and birds are quite approachable which is perfect for sketching, drawing and getting up close to view those oh-so-elusive details that can be hard to see in the wild. Because this bird was so tame, I initially spent quite some time doing accurate drawings before starting the watercolor, which was done in many thin washes of color onto smooth Arches paper. Completed some time ago, this painting is now in the private collection of a friend. The size is 7 1/2" X 11".

AFRICAN FISH EAGLE

In a previous post I wrote about the beauty of the African Fish Eagle along with some studies that I have made of them. In this painting, I decided to feature the bird in its environment - here sitting in an ubiquitous thorn tree with weaver bird nests in the background. I love all birds but find that it is often the largest eagles and falcons that excite me the most as an artist and naturalist, but these birds are often the ones that are most difficult to see - at least not well enough to get enough information to create a painting. Visiting certain Zoos and wildlife rehab centers is always a good idea as is going to falconry meets etc but there is nothing like seeing the bird in the wild doing what it should. And that is what I have tried to capture in this painting. Thanks to Craig for help with this one! Size is 22" X 15" painted on Arches watercolor paper. SOLD.

THE FOREST FLOOR

I did this watercolor some time ago but only today came across a digitalized pic of it! I remember at that time quite a few years ago being struck by how much goes unseen under our feet! And as a result started to look a little more carefully - a practice that I still continue to this day. I did a series of paintings like this one and would have done more but for the fact that each one took ages! Here it is Springtime in the forest which is slowly coming to life. New plants and flowers are blooming under the dappled shade of a warm day and moss is starting to grow again after early spring showers. Last years leaves are still to be found though slowly decaying into humus. It is the time for spring migrants to be heard calling through the woods and if you are lucky, the sight of a newly-born fawn. The Forest Floor is 11" X 15". SOLD.

BOX AND FIGURINE

First I would like to wish you all a wonderful New Year - may it bring you all peace, health and happiness! Like so many I have made a list of new year's resolutions, let's see how long I can keep to them!
I have had the box featured in this painting with me for some time, the penguin figurine for less so but I thought that they would work well together. So after trying a few different compositions, I came up with the one I liked best then made a careful drawing onto hot-pressed Arches watercolor paper. After stretching, the paper was washed over a few times with Raw Sienna then I began work on the box. More (but slightly darker) washes of the background color were added then I did the wood grain before touching in most of the smaller details with a finer brush. The figuring actually took much longer that I had thought as there was some careful modulating to see to then the darker tones were built up over time. Finally the eye of the penguin and the shadows were built up. Sometimes the simplest compositions are the best and I had in mind the work of Alan Magee while I was working on this one. Size is 10" X 12".