Thursday 21 June 2012

Redfoot

Here's some work in progress- a Red-footed Falcon from a long weekend in Kiskunsag, Hungary at the end of May.  As usual I'm racked with guilt for doing too much birding and not enough sketching on my annual jaunt to E Europe, but I did sit down with this fellah for half a day and work out on the spot what I wanted to paint when I got home- first and second images.  Then the third image is the beginnings of a working-out on canvas, now I am back.

His chosen clump of poplars held a brood of fledged Hooded Crows top left, two pairs of Redfoots middle and some young Kestrels still in the nest bottom right, plus the wind was blowing.  So full of movement and noise: lots of billowing leaves to be added.



Red-footed Falcon, Kiskunsag;  work in progress
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Saturday 9 June 2012

out of the Woods

It looks like spring is finally done, so here's a shot at capturing the Wood Sandpiper highlight and moving on to pastures new (big rolling ones in Hungary- for another post).

I'm currently painting with a thinned acrylic underneath layer, then with tricky decisions about how far to add thicker paint on top and how far to leave the initial underpainting well alone: hopefully tis one hasn't been wrecked in the final stages.