I was sketching when I noticed a White-breasted Nuthatch lying motionless on the feeder. I thought perhaps he was sick (he didn't look injured) and sketched him while watching to see if he would move. After a few minutes he did, just to shift position so that he was tipped forward in an odd position, then he once again remained motionless for a few minutes. I began to wonder if he was sunning himself when he shifted again, this time to hang sideways, head downward, on the edge of the feeder. Again he remained motionless, obviously soaking up the sunshine.
For a warm up today I did a quick watercolor sketch of an Ostrich, using one of Arielle's photos from South Africa as a reference. I ended up liking my sketch and am sorry I painted it on such a tiny scrap of paper and right up to the edge. It was fun, though, and I'm sure I'll be painting more Ostriches in the coming days.
A while back I painted a gull in flight and I wanted to do the same bird again but with a stormy sky this time. She keeps flying forward, despite the stormy clouds around her.
And here is the Mallard I've been working on. This is from a photo Jonathan took of Jade, the Mallard drake who used to visit our stream every spring along with his mate, Agate.
1 comment:
Loved hearing about the little bird sunning himself. How funny. It's so cold here the birds haven't been out at all. Wonderful sketch of ostrich and mallard.
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