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From the Riverbank Week 2a: Some Photo reference in case of rain!

May 16, 2021

OK it’s a Coot!

The Weather forecast is miserable for this week so here are some photographs of river birds and a few cows for inspiration, a contingency in case of rain on Tuesday.

As anything that moves is a challenge in real life, becoming familiar with bird and animal shapes will be helpful before sketching them outside. We can work in real time together either from the following references or using your own. We’ll choose a bird or a cow and make rapid thumbnail sketches in real time; four or five to a sketchbook page so don’t think too large. I will be using a stopwatch! You will see from the reference that you should be able to make several sketches of the same or a similar bird in different poses.

Where birds in groups overlap each other, as in the cygnet photos it can be useful to treat them as a single shape and then sort out the individuals. They move in amazing ways, with mother swan looking out for them all the time.

After a few warm up sketches we can move on to a more considered drawing or painting, making a good start that can be finished during the session or in your own time afterwards. This work may either be a painting that has the creature as the main subject, or a work where the beast or bird is placed in its landscape setting.

Most of the heron images are from the water garden at Cliveden where the carp fry are easy prey for a hungry bird. I watched and sketched this one before resorting to record his antics on camera. but sadly never caught him actually catching a fish.

Heron on the Cam
Heron on the Cam detail
Cows and Swans on the Cam
Ducks on the Stour at Flatford
Duck on the Stour at Flatford

Your paintings and sketches:

This week’s drawings include two minute drawings and two minute blind contour drawings, where looking at the image but not the paper was permitted. There are also 30 minute or longer drawings from the Canada Goose image posted just before them.

Drawings below were 30 minute drawings from the image above

Canada Geese
by Virginia
Canada Geese
by Elizabeth
Canada Geese
by Jan
Canada Geese
by John
Canada Geese
by Liz
Canada Geese
by Shane
Canada Geese
by Ann
Canada Geese
by Heather
Canada Geese
by Sarah
Canada Geese
Pencil by Maryon
Canada Geese
Acrylic and Ink by Maryon

Two minute drawings and blind contour drawings:

Two Minute Heron
by Sarah
Two minute Herons and blind contour Ducks and Geese by John
Heron: Two minute sketches, Ducks: blind contour drawing
by Jan
Two Minute cows
by Sarah
Two Minute Cows
by Jan

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