A suitable theme
for Blogtober Day 1! Not gonna lie, I was slightly caught on the hop (clearly unaware that October comes straight after September…who knew?) but I had a Wild Life Drawing session, and is there anything more autumnal than a red squirrel with its burnished tawny fur, bushy tail, and sweet little ear tufts?
I am trying to practise illustrations of furry things as if I want to get into picture-making for the conservation and rewilding sector, mammals need to be part of my artistic repertoire. We were working from reference images while we spoke to Laura Bower from PTES, who oversees the Briddlesford Wood project on the Isle of Wight where they are helping protect the island’s dormouse and red squirrel population, as well as rare bats, plants and insects. Grey squirrels haven’t made it over the Solent, so the red squirrels can live in relative peace without their invasive cousins. There are also no deer, so habitat management is more straightforward in that regard, and the hazel coppice on which these two mammal species depend can be allowed to regrow without constant browsing. There are cattle on site to carry out targeted grazing, but it is a hopeful project – something we all need to hear about these days!
We started with a few warm-up sketches, and then settled into our choice of reference image while we listened to Laura and asked questions. For my main sketch, I chose a still from a video and painted the background with granulating watercolour, then drew in the squirrel with pencil, and painted him in gouache.
