Forum Role: Participant
Active Since: April 30, 2018
Topics Started: 0
Replies Created: 16

Forum Replies Created

Viewing 16 posts - 1 through 16 (of 16 total)
  • Debra
    Participant
    IMG_8985 What I find most difficult is fitting the drawing on my paper. Unless I use a ruler to go from large to small, and use proportions, I run out of room! The techniques I find most helpful are negative space and short sketchy lines. I  chose to draw the marsh wren because I really liked the photo and my gesture drawing were all done very small.
  • Debra
    Participant
    Beautifully done!
  • Debra
    Participant
    Upside down drawing was fun because it is challenging. I guess as I was drawing, I was aware that it was a bird but also was looking at how the shapes related to each other. For some reason, I had difficulty sizing this drawing down to fit my smaller nature journal. I had to erase what I started and then kind of put some marks at the edges so I'd know how much space I could take up. Even so, I know the bird's leg is shorter than it should be because I was out of space! So lots of erasures on this one!IMG_8710
  • Debra
    Participant
    I feel gesture drawing is definitely helping . I am noticing details and behaviors that I had never noticed before and also noticing the placement and angles  of various parts of the body. For instance, I noticed that cardinals and tufted titmice almost flatten their tufts when eating. IMG_7295 The more I tried to do this, the more I wanted to keep trying. I never thought I would be able to look at 3D animals and nature and capture what I see on paper. I have only drawn from photos.
  • Debra
    Participant
    Great work! It really looks edible! I also like your printing style.
  • Debra
    Participant
    Awesome sketches. They really "feel" 3 dimensional!
  • Debra
    Participant
    I really like how you did the hatching. Your sketches gave me some good ideas on how to use this technique!
  • Debra
    Participant
    Lovely sketch Tallula. Were these charcoal pencils or graphite?
    in reply to: Jump Right in! #687549
  • Debra
    Participant
    Kathy, I like how you combined ink with the watercolor because you can illustrate finer details. Very pretty. I tried to do mine with all watercolor pencils. Not really sure how they should be used but I could not sharpen them and there were not enough suitable colors to blend to get the shades I wanted.
    in reply to: Jump Right in! #687544
  • Debra
    Participant
    I loved trying to draw the warbler. I like using a photo as a reference. But I am most used to color pencils and was trying to use watercolor pencils for this one, since I thought maybe that's what would be used in the field. I noticed that the bird wasn't really looking sideways, he is somewhat looking toward us and I couldn't capture that. I noticed the black and yellow alternations in his wing feathers and that the steaks on his chest have some redness to them and are uneven.IMG_3361 (1).
    in reply to: Jump Right in! #687530
  • Debra
    Participant
    1. I have not seen large flocks of foraging crows, only families I guess. There are only 3-4 in my area right now. 2. I see a large flock of Canada geese at my closest large park. In the past, in an urban area, I used to see flocks of starlings, pigeons and during certain times of the year, grackles with a few red winged blackbirds mixed in.
    in reply to: Life in a Flock #657533
  • Debra
    Participant
    I love your journal! Beautiful , even with no color.
  • Debra
    Participant
    Such a gorgeous piece of art! Wow!
  • Debra
    Participant
    I was inspired by a book about creating mixed media pages about nature and also by following someone on FB who does nature journaling. I love nature, hiking with my dog and photographing what we see, writing narratives to go along with the photos. I am striving to reduce stress and anxiety, and to be more mindful . I never seem to  make time for art. It seems to be a luxury.  So I think nature journaling would be something wonderful I could do that would bring more peace to my life as I reflect on the beauty of nature through art and writing. So, my approach would be to do a combination of art and reflective writing ,along with research. Seeing all of the styles of journaling was very inspirational.  I would use pencil, ink, watercolor crayons, and watercolor .
  • Debra
    Participant
    I like how the team can track individuals and find out how long they live and who they hang out with. To get to know the crows as individuals would be so rewarding, like having an old friend. It is so miraculous to see how the little ones look so helpless and how they change over time. It was so interesting how they are born with blue eyes! Neat to see the bird's eye view from their nests. It makes me wonder how you would tell a squirrel nest from a crow nest.
  • Debra
    Participant
    1. I will tell my neighbor that squirrels and chipmunks are the biggest predators of baby birds and that actually jays and crows are near the bottom of the list , along with deer . 2. I have 3 crows that come to visit in Hamburg Twp., Michigan. They like walking along the middle of the dirt road, maybe pecking for salt in the winter. They will also look around in the leaf litter and under the feeders. I would like to find a nest, but most likely their nest is on private property in the woods beyond my neighbor's home. 3. The raven is not found near me, but maybe I can see one sometime in northern Michigan. I will note that the crow has more rounded features than the raven and 5 longer wing feathers . 4. Owls will use nests left behind by crows. They also warn other birds of hawks, become the prey of larger predators, and help spread seeds. They help keep the food web in check by eating insects and rodents.
    in reply to: What is a Crow? #655322
Viewing 16 posts - 1 through 16 (of 16 total)