This little blog is ending another year, so why not post one more post in 2023 filled with birds? These hummingbirds and juncos are done in graphite on Etched stone paper.
This year was filled with bird drawings and landscapes. We’ll see what 2024 holds. Happy New Year!
There’s a chance all three of these birds are really the same bird. I mix and match whatever photos I take to create an interesting composition. In this case, I used three separate bird photos and two different sunflower photos to create this drawing. This started with two birds, but I added a third when it seemed too empty.
Smoothie77 is a great teacher. Even though he also teaches in watercolor and ink, I’m still firmly immersed in graphite. I’m able to follow the lessons about creating mood and detail and then turn around and apply them to some of my own ideas. Below, I followed the tutorial on drawing the little Chiffchaff and then tried some of the same techniques using a photo of a Northern Flicker I had taken.
I keep practicing landscapes with trees, foliage, and grasses. This was a challenging tutorial, and it got a little blurry near the end.
When I need a break from tackling landscape, I return to birds. This starling was gobbling crab apples, probably stopping on its way south, and I took about a dozen pictures of it.
The two vignettes on the top were Smoothie77 tutorials. I learned how to leave items out of photos and simplify rather than include the overwhelming amount of details from real life. The bottom two are based on my own photos. I like them both but realize that creating a nice, dreamy border does take some skill and planning–next time!
