When there was no green

Little Grebe at Island Mere in May.   July just isn't my time, what with everything parched and stripes of lurid green overall.  So this afternoon I grabbed an old canvas and finished these from Minsmere, when the sky was blue, but all was still sepia and sienna. 

3DH

Still playing with Hobby headshapes and getting the eyes in right place- here's a try-out at a 3D model rendered in shiny blue to reflect a fine summer's day.

Hobbies and black holes

This version of an Island Mere Hobby should have been done/painted/posted/filed last month, but it went all muddy on me and had to be hosed down and re-painted:  now it's done I think, although I'm still puzzling over whether to paint in a hint of the eye that is in shade.  It will go wrong for sure if I try..

It's a tricky one- usually when I see a Hobby you just don't quite get the eye-ring, but still when you paint a Hobby, things just seem not right until you stick it in.

Here's another from a couple of years ago initially painted as seen (so dark holes where eye should be) but I've recently cracked and dabbed in some detail.  It looks better for it [feet are still too lumpy and prominent but that can be fixed another day].

Here's weird looking Hobby with wrong-shape eyebrow and no eye-ring..

Improved Hobby below with a bit of face detail in roughly the right places.

sticking at it

Today's inspirational image- after 275 unsuccessful attempts (pic1) a Woodpigeon has finally got 1 stick (pic2) wedged on ledge in my garage.

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Boom boom

A marvellous booming Bittern yesterday, blue skin in front of the eye brighter than a damselfly's bum.  This one was booming with his neck stretched out a bit, not as hunched and inflated as sometimes.  Still grand though.

  

loafing and moulting

This seems to be the week when the drake Shovelers that have been loafing about start their moult.  So here's a shot at capturing a full plumage drake from last week, doing his harlequin hippo thing and maybe pondering the spring that has passed.

shrikefest

Such a fine shrike day at  Lowestoft last Sunday.  Absolute pearler of an R-b Shrike, with a scimitar shadow cast on its breast by its bill.  Plus as bonus feature the Woodchat, bouncing around on a bramble bush.