Once again, the set of photos I snapped last fall captured my attention, and I drew this larger sunflower and sparrow piece. After weeks of using mineral paper and Claybord, it’s a pleasure to once again use ink on paper. I especially enjoyed the line work on the leaves.
Yet another 6″x6″ drawing on Claybord of a little bird, this time a very sleepy female House Sparrow. I used ink, graphite, and scratchboard techniques.
Above are four different stages, with the final one at the top of this post. As always, part of me likes the first version of this as much as I like the final version, but I can admit I’m not crazy about anything in between. If I ever had enough nerve, I’d experiment with a more stylized version and stop with a sparse, simple final product… but I kind of doubt I’ll ever have enough will power to actually do that.
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.
This is my fifth and final sparrow pen and ink drawing in this series. Why is it the last? I’ve run out of Arches hot press watercolor paper. These guys were taking vigorous baths in a very small, decorative pond in a park.
I relied more on hatching for this one than any other, I think. It got a little busy, but I like to change things up to see what will happen and so it stands out from the others.