MASKED SHRIKE

A pencil sketch of the Masked Shrike at Spurn over the last few weeks.

BURTON MERE WETLANDS

Had a great trip to Burton Mere Wetlands RSPB last week, some great birds including Red-necked Phalarope, Cattle Egret, Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper amongst many others. I 've started to sketch on single sheets of watercolour paper instead of a notebook, its far easier to move the sheet around and no centre seam!
The study below was the juv Red-necked Phalarope, not seen one for some years!

BIRDING FRONTIERS - Autumn

The last 6 months have been very hectic being the sole illustrator for Martin Garners Birding Frontiers - Autumn book, it has also been very satisfying and it was this sort of project which I was waiting for a long time! The book turned out to be the best selling book at the Rutland Bird Fair with great reviews and the success means the other seasons and family groups will be produced in the future, projects I am relishing!
This left me very little time to up date the blog, and revise the website but this is my priority now and will work it alongside the other books and artwork I will be undertaking. I've started by uploading some of the book, the cover original with the printed version beside it, this book would not have been as successful without the keen eye and high quality design and print by Chris Gaughan of Designwing and Swallowtail Press, two superb companies. I've also uploaded the Treecreeper chapter illustrations, indicating the differences between Northern and British Treecreeper and the other plate is Hen an Northern Harrier, both done in watercolour. Will upload some note book sketches later this week!

BTO

Didn't realise it has been so long since the last update, I've been very busy but will hopefully be updating more often. I'm currently working on an identification book which is very time consuming but will upload some of the sketches in progress for the book. The picture attached now is one that has just been published on the cover of the BTO WEBS publication, I was very pleased with the reproduction, a very nice journal!

Just finished a cover painting for the BTO WEBS publication which will be out this year, I've also a lot on painting information boards for nature reserves and some illustrations for Bird Reports.
I've attached some sketches I did at Spurn, Yorkshire of a female Red backed Shrike, also attached is a recent commission I undertook of an Ibisbill. I've also attached a black and white ink drawing of a Yellow browed Warbler recently published in the Yorkshire Bird Report.

WEBSITE

My website has now been closed for refurbishment and updating by my good friend Gary Noden in line with the design of the blog. It will feature new artwork when up and running again which I hope will be within the next month. I've been busy trying to get the decks clear so I can get some birding in this spring and I am currently working on some pieces for the Isles of Scilly Nature Review and  Lancs Bird Report which I hope to bury over the Easter, after Easter its heads down to start on the cover for the BTO webs publication which I have to thank another friend for namely Jack Ashton B! Attached are two sketches recently done of the female Smew at Old Moor, both were done in the field, the top one done very quickly indeed with a little more care on the lower one, all the tones etc were done with pencil with the colour wash put over when i got home, toneing and doing the shadow in the pencil first literally makes a 30 second over painting job!

I finally started to get some new artwork together to update the website, a lot of that work will be in the near future publications of the Yorkshire Report and the Spurn Nature Review, the following very spontaneous watercolour was of a flock of Common Scoters over the sea, I tried not to fiddle in too much detail and do each bird with one swoop of the brush and then the inclusion of shadow when they were semi dry.