And why not celebrate them? There are several dozen species in this country, but I’m only representing three here. Although they may be overlooked for their flashier friends, I find them charming. The conical beak, the blocky head, the brownness of them… what’s not to love?

I like how they hang out together in bushes and seem to enjoy each other’s company. They’re easy to take pictures of because they’re fairly tolerant of camera-toting artists and hold still a little longer than some small birds (I’m talking about you, warblers). So I say, let’s celebrate the humble sparrow, my steady, backyard friend.

I had five sheets of 7”x10” Arches hot press watercolor paper, and I was in a mood to use fountain pens to practice some line techniques. I’ve recently been inspired by some of the great pen and ink artists from the golden age of illustration, in particular Franklin Booth. I purchased a new book about him called Franklin Booth: Silent Symphony. He was an amazing artist.

My sloppy hatching is nothing to write home about, but it’s really fun to do—challenging, too. I set out to sketch small birds using more line work and less color except for my favorite moody background, but I didn’t always succeed—and I relied on gel pens for highlights in all of them.

The Junco sketch looks more like a painting. All of my initial hatching was covered up when I lost confidence in what I was doing. Still, I like all five of these.

I particularly like this first one I completed, the lone sparrow on the sunflower. I think the simple colors and composition of this are a pleasing combination.