exhibition part III

I think these last three are the paintings I'm most happy with. All of them reflect vivid memories of recent months, fleeting moments seared onto my memory and hopefully developed in the watery paint.

This last Autumn saw a number of good days at the coast - with potential seemingly awaiting us in every bush. While Yellow-Browed Warblers have become almost a cliche of October on the Norfolk coast, the Pallas' Warbler remains an extra special bird worth finding. I've been lucky to find a few in previous years, and with the movement along the coast turning up all sorts of migrants, it seemed that another one surely must be a cert. Luckily there were very few birders crowding the walk from Wells to Holkham - and it was along this stretch, after a very long day, that a small flock of birds darted from tree to tree, keeping just ahead of us as the dusk closed in. A flash of eyestripe and there it was - In the shadow and from slightly below, it wasn't immediately obvious, but then, it turned its head to reveal the lemon crown stripe that sets it apart from its close congeners. The birds were moving so quickly, there was no time for photos. I just had to try to absorb the shape before it was gone, and make a quick note in my fieldbook. 

The walk along from Thistle Corner is sadly lacking when it comes to rare migrants. On some days it's pretty lacking in birds of any sort. But there's usually a Robin or two around, quitely seeping within the dense Hawthorns and Blackthorns, or rippling across the pathway. They can be cautiously tame, and quite often will perch expectantly in the open. I had thought about making some Christmas cards - and a Robin in snow was the obvious theme. Shame about the snow.

A couple of days after I finished the Robin, I woke up to a scene I'd hoped for. Snow had fallen and covered the garden. But I hardly had time to take it all in, when a Sparrowhawk suddenly dashed in, pausing on a branch just outside the window. It was gone almost before I'd had a chance to grab a pencil, and all I could do was roughly sketch a brief outline of the upright hawk, breast feathers ruffled. Looking through my sketchbookss for reference, I found some head studies I'd done a few years ago, and so was able to piece together the details. The bird had been a juvenile, but I decided to paint an adult male, simply for the chance to explore the colour palette. Something happens when you put paint onto a drawing. For some reason, the form changes - exposing areas that suddenly don't seem right. Looking at the bird now, I think perhaps the tail is a bit too short. When I'd drawn it, I couldn't help thinking it looked too much like a female. I fiddeld with it's face a bit - but while it's face now looked smaller, I reckon that maybe the rest of the body was pushed out of proportion. I took a bit off the tail to try to redress the balance, but I'm not sure it succeeded. Oddly - it looks better in close-up than it does as a small thumbnail - so for best viewing, click on the image, open in a new tab and enlarge it.

Still, I was quite pleased with many of the different areas of the painting, and the process of painting it should help if I paint more sprawks. And there's definitely more sprawks to paint.