The Garden Birds Project - robin and dunnock

The next two birds in my garden birds drawing project are regular visitors - robin and dunnock.

The Garden Birds project, next drawings

Here are the next two drawings in my ongoing inky Garden Birds project - starling and blue tit.

The Garden Birds Project

Each year I keep a list of all the birds that I see or hear from the house or garden here in Cambridgeshire. Many I see year after year, and others I might spot one year and not another. I thought it might be fun to have a drawing project - ink drawings of all the birds that have made it onto my list over the years.

So for starters, here are the first two bird species I spotted this year - wood pigeon Columba palumbus and house sparrow (male) Passer domesticus.

I'm doing all these drawings in a Stillman & Birn Epsilon series sketchbook, the 5.5 by 8.5 inch size, and I'm using Faber Castell Pitt artist pens and Uni Pin fineliners.



Two down, many more to go!

Magpie post-mortem study

I found this unfortunate bird (European Magpie, Pica pica) on a farm track near where I live. I don't know what caused its demise - it has no apparent injuries, but it does seem a bit thin perhaps. Anyway, I took the opportunity to do a pencil study. Hoping to complete a watercolour study at some point too. Various graphite pencils in a Stillman & Birn zeta journal, 8 by 12 inch.

Open Gardens sketching

I spent a very pleasant afternoon recently at the village Open Gardens event. The garden owners very kindly humoured me as I sat sketching, and I also enjoyed some delicious cake :-). Sadly I ran out of time (and sketchbook!) and didn't quite manage to visit all the gardens, but it was a lovely way to spend an afternoon. The ink sketches were done in situ, and the watercolour washes plus some additional drawing added later. Pics are clickable to enlarge.

Ink and watercolour, Seawhite of Brighton concertina sketchbook.

Momma duck and ducklings

Visitors to the garden, in Indian ink with a dip pen.

Blackbird skull studies

From my slowly growing collection of 'nature table' items! Graphite and ink studies of a blackbird skull.