So now I’m getting a bit obsessed with Snipe, a funny little bird with impossibly skinny legs and beak, for wading and probing at the water’s edge, beautifully designed for its environment. In these drawings I focused on the silhouette to try and establish the overall shape of the bird, using my own home-madeContinue reading “Snipe Silhouette”
Tag Archives: taxidermy
Blobbiness Abounds
I thought I loved the bittern when I first saw it – and I did – but then I started drawing a snipe and that was it, bye-bye bittern. I’m so fickle. This gorgeous bird is one of Swansea Museum’s taxidermy collection. I did this drawing with a reed pen and my home-made walnut ink.Continue reading “Blobbiness Abounds”
Blind Contour Bittern
I did some blind contour drawings of the crazy stuffed bittern I was drawing recently at Swansea Museum. It was one of the taxidermy specimens from the museum stores and we were lucky to have been able to get to draw them. It’s good to go back to some basic drawing exercises now andContinue reading “Blind Contour Bittern”
A Greenfinch In Stages
Here’s a little greenfinch I drew recently, a stuffed one, very old and fragile. I took photos of the different stages of development using conté crayons into my A4 spiral bound brown paper sketchbook. I used the white first, then sanguine and finally black. I spent a day drawing with a groupContinue reading “A Greenfinch In Stages”
Bitterns And Stripes
I think I’m falling for those crazy bitterns. I couldn’t take my eyes of them at a recent drawing day at Swansea Museum, they’re awesome….. I used my Issabey brushes and my home-made walnut ink into a Khadi sketchbook, using the double spread. I focussed on the shape of the group, doing a sort ofContinue reading “Bitterns And Stripes”
Crazy Bittern
I’d never seen a bittern before and didn’t even know they existed until I came across this crazy-looking one the other day. He’s stuffed, unfortunately, which may be why he looks a bit mad. I spent a day drawing with a group of artists at Swansea Museum, organised by Swansea Print Workshop and theContinue reading “Crazy Bittern”
Skylarks
I spent a great day at Swansea Museum with a group of fellow artists and Edinburgh-based printmaker Kelly Stewart. We drew stuffed birds – lots of them – all very old and fragile. They had been in the museum stores and this was the first time some of them had seen light of dayContinue reading “Skylarks”
Stuffed
I can only manage to get to life drawing at Swansea Print Workshop for the second half on Thursday nights so the sessions are already well under way. Tonight, I wandered in and saw that our model was flanked by two stuffed birds, an owl and a jay. It was tough drawing two different creaturesContinue reading “Stuffed”
Maltese Cats Revisited
Revisiting My Sketchbook I’ve been looking through some of my old blog posts, there are over 3,000 of them, and it’s hard to remember all the artwork I’ve posted. Here’s one from just after Husb and I came back from a short holiday in Malta, a gorgeous place, full of cats. I put some watercolourContinue reading “Maltese Cats Revisited”
Hare Raising
hmmmm how many puns about hares can I get away with? 🙂 I’m still practicing drawing hares, alternating between the Samsung Galaxy Tablet and pencils. Another day or two and I’ll move onto another animal. I visited the old Swansea Museum today. They have an exhibition on Alfred Wallace with some taxidermy including foxes andContinue reading “Hare Raising”
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