A Little Bird

Hi all,
I'm being quite successful at the moment doing sketches on a regular basis. I am find it quite therapeutic during these cold days. My wood turning workshop is as cold as an Eskimo's fridge, but at least while my wooden creations might be suffering, my art skills are getting a chance to improve.

I have decided to concentrate my efforts in certain areas. Flora and fauna and small birds are going to be my main focus. The former, just because they are beautiful, and the latter because they are not only beautiful but will also be the subject of some woodcarvings I hope to do in the spring.

I thought that sketching birds would help me to understand their shapes better.
Here my first attempt.

Sorry about the quality of the scan, but it gives you an idea about where I'm going. The sketch was done using pencils, graphite, brown pencils, plus pen and ink.

The next one I did was a goldfinch, which is a bit more colourful.

This one was done using the set of 12 winsor and Newton watercolour markers that my wife bought me for Christmas. I really like using these because they save me having to mix paints in the conventional way. I use them mostly in conjunction with a water brush and they work like magic. Highly recommended if you are thinking about giving them a go.

In my next post I'll show you how I'm getting on with the flora and fauna.

Take 2

Hi All,
It's been a long time since I've done a post on here. I spent most of the summer and autumn honing my wood turning skills, but now that winter is upon us I need a change. The reason for the change is that my workshop is as cold as an igloo so I've had to come indoors for some warmth.

So, I've gone all arty again. I have bought a couple of books and some more art supplies and I'm giving it another go. I am also trying to do one sketch or drawing per day; at the moment I'm doing about five a week but that's five more than I was doing a month ago.

Anyway, I purchased some watercolour markers and was inspired by a rose that was on the front of one of the books I purchased.

The book is by a brilliant botanical artist called Billy Showell, and it is just amazaing. I have only flicked through it but it looks great. I am hoping to try out some of the exercises soon and will show you how I got on. I am also trying to write/draw in a journal every day so I may share some of that with you too.

Regarding the wood turning, here's  a couple of items that I did before the winter froze my appendages off.

You will notice a theme with these two items and I'm going to make it a set of three if ever the weather warms up again.