I have had a list from David at South Downs Wildlife with the suggested birds for the South Downs logbook, and I’ve 5 new ones to paint. Here is the list, and a few of the paintings I have already:
The new ones to paint are Whinchat, Marsh Tit, Common Sandpiper, Common Gull, Corn Bunting and Long-eared Owl, so I will get on an research those!
Autumnwatch is back this week, and I am going to try and draw from the tv when I can; the webcams are screening live images from 10am-10pm so I might try drawing from there too. I have never had the opportunity to focus so much on drawing a particular thing before and I am so pleased that the practise is paying off. I feel much more confident tackling a sketch now, and although I know how important it is to “draw every day” I have never had the discipline to do so (even when I was doing my Foundation art course…). Now that I am drawing because of wanting to increase the authenticity of my illustrations, and showcase my skills, I also have some workshops coming up and the best way to learn something is to teach it.
Here are my drawings from yesterday’s walk, as well as from last night’s Autumnwatch:
On Monday I took my logbooks over to Wilderness Wood to do a little walk/talk launch. It was the first day of half-term so it was just a few of us who took a trip around the woodland, looking and listening. Blue Tits, Robins and Wrens were the most apparent, but a cloud of goldfinches rose up above a spruce before fluttering and twittering back down in to the branches. The Christmas tree plantation looked stunning in the midday sun, and we saw a Song Thrush and a Dunnock in one of the gardens.
blog and website 