Blackbird Watercolour Sketch

Blackbird Watercolour 6" x 4"

I'm playing around with a postcard format and practising sketching my favourite little model. The reference for this sketch is a beautiful photograph* by Tony Wills of New Zealand and I thank him for permission to use it.

Lately I've been hanging bird feeders; scattering seed; investing in a telephoto lens and (the favourite) getting Pentax Papilio binoculars for Christmas, but the bird models I crave continue to elude me. Thank goodness for generous photographers like Tony Wills and Wikimedia.

I will continue to draw this little fellow until I can do him justice.

A few people are resting their blogs at the moment and I think it's a good time to do the same. See you in 4 or 5 weeks.


* blackbird. Tony Wills. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blackbird_%28male%29.jpg

Oil on Foil - Golden Apples

Oil on Metallic Foil on Canvas - 10" x 10"

This one was an experiment and as such turned out rather better than I expected. It is almost impossible to photograph. Now it's gone to live with some Favourite People in Sydney.

I only achieved 24 posts on this blog last year. The shame of it all. Better than Dermott achieved on his blog though.

So what's in store for 2011? - I think I'll just take the trip and not make any plans and see where I wash up.