Bird-Drawing Tip: Get Familiar

Familiar has a double-meaning in this case. Barry Van Dusen said a smart thing the other day, that if you wish to successfully draw a bird, draw that bird over and over until you assimilate its form. Stay within that bird family long enough to grok it. If you draw warblers and then switch over to herons you’ll have a bit of disconnect until you get the hang of long legs and long necks . Draw a lot of one family until that particular morphology makes some sense and becomes second nature to you, until you get the hang of the proportions and movements. A warbler is a bird, and so is a stork, and so is a mudhen but it will be less frustrating if you practice on one type at a time. Get comfortable with one bird family before you move on to another. For example: Monday=Raptor Day, Tuesday=Shorebird Day, Wednesday=Cassowary Day (or whatever shows up for you). Try it!

Bad I.D. alert: it’s a Parula warbler, folks. Jumped the gun a little, but now I have another life bird to look forward to!

Lately it’s been Warbler Day every day. That’s all about drawing with your head thrown back, looking straight up. Sore necks (yours) are part of the process. But worth it!

Exception to the Warbler Neck Rule: Ovenbirds are walkin’ warblers, found on the ground.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Wild turkey- Benson House, Harvard Forest, 5/11/08. Watercolor on Canson drawing paper, 111lb. Drawn and painted through a scope.
I thought this might be appropriate- a very maternal wild turkey on a nest, right outside the house. She decided we could provide a good foundation for her family, literally. The nest is on the ground right next to the wall, with arching raspberry canes and a discarded roll of hog-pen wire over it. I discovered it when I stepped out back to look at some warblers and inadvertently got a little too close. With a hiss, the turkey vacated and stalked off to the woods, possibly to lure me away from her clutch of big, buffy-tan and speckled eggs. An even dozen.

I’ve been drawing in the woods for the last few days, hauling clunky gear with me- a big wooden easel, a large drawing board, portfolio of papers, shoulder bag and backpack. Lots of junk. I think she’s gotten used to me walking back and forth past her nest and has learned to sit tight. I try not to look directly at her. She’s relaxed a bit. I’m harmless.

Today I decided to draw and paint her alongside the house where she could keep her eye on me. I went a comfortable distance away and set up my camp stool and a scope (borrowed, thanks Barry!) and waited until she’d stopped looking tense. That’s when I began looking through the glass, sketchbook on my lap, pencil in hand, followed by a brush. Eventually she looked bored and sleepy, but she never took her eyes off me. She’s a good mom.

Yellow rumped female warbler gathering nesting material from a turkey’s nest. Watercolor on Canson drawing paper. Drawn through binoculars. 5/11/08
Another good mother in the neighborhood is a yellow-rumped (myrtle) warbler, who has been gathering stray feathers a few feet away from the turkey nest where the wind has carried them. She’s flying back and forth from the raspberry patch to the woods, feathering her nest with genuine turkey down. There’s a lot of serious activity going on around here in that department, lots of mothers-to-be, babies soon to follow (can’t wait!). It’s funny to see a hawk carrying sticks in her feet, or a hummingbird with puffs of spider web in her slender bill. They’re just great mothers. Happy Day, all you moms out there!

Back From Shangrila-la-land

Like the vapor of a dream, the remnants of the past week linger around the edges of my tired brain in a pink and gold blur of constant sun, scented flowers and architecture worthy of a Babylonian temple or a Hollywood backlot. Bit of a contrast to the quaint and quiet I’ve been enjoying up here in the woods, I’d say. I’ve been visiting my family in sunny Southern California. I have a terrible jet-lag hangover and we didn’t get in until 3:30 this morning. I’ll probably keep this short, since I will shortly fall asleep.

Highlights before I forget them: napping in the sun-warm sand at Malibu Beach; delightful hours at the Getty Villa Museum and best of all, getting to sit with my Dad during an awesome performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. A very special experience for us both, I believe. I’m fairly sure it was real.