Quick and dirty

I've had a very jolly time producing some last minute slides for a talk on Japan and South Korea.   Strictly no fiddling about with the details- just a speedy drawing with a charcoal stick, finger smudging to get some tones and textures going and let any mess lie where it falls.  Then grabbed onto the computer and few layers of transparent colour added by digi-brush    

Siberian Rubythroat

Siberian Rubythroat

Chinese Grey Shrike and Great Grey Shrike

Short-tailed Albatross

In the belly of the beast

It's that time of year again..

when godwits return, Hobbies fledge, and I submit work to the Society of Wildlife Artists Annual Exhibition (SWLA) for near-certain rejection.

Maybe this year I will sneak one in- last time I had one that got a "nearly accepted" sticker, with a kind note telling me that it was booted for having a crap frame.  So this year a new framing strategy is in place!

Of course, there are other wildlife art societies and exhibitions out there,  but for the most part they are looking for tigers and wolves painted off photos etc.  So SWLA remains the one too strive for...

Still at it

Happy news on the painting front.  I was kindly invited to show some pictures over last weekend, with encouragement to keep things cheerful (and cheap).  So I rattled these out extra-quick, based on recently seen local birds and lo- sold several of them.  So a lesson hopefully learned:  onward!

Potato amongst the parsnips:

Here's a spudddy Black-tail almost hidden amongst the tapered forms of the Bar-tails.  There's only a few lightly-marked female Bar-tails left today, after the flock dropped in earlier in the week- the males and one accompanying Knot pushed-off overnight.

Potwits:

Godwits feeding out of a saucepan this morning!

Littlewits and largewits:

Well female godwits are supposed to be bigger…but by this much?  I say good luck to green orange - lime.