Hello, my name is Fay. I am a sketchbook artist, gardener and lover of nature. I live in the state of Washington, in the United States, in the center of pear country.
One of the things I love most in nature are birds. I am inspired by their variety, color and peaceful sounds. I love that no matter where I go I can count on seeing at least one bird, whatever the weather may be. Today I would like to share with you my process for sketching birds in my journal.
I use a combination of observation and photographs to create my sketches. Complete sketches are not possible for me to make while observing the birds. So I depend on looking closely and trying to remember as much as I can. I watch for repeat poses to learn their habits and movement patterns. After accumulating this observational information and combining it with photographs I take, I use it to make my sketches.
Before I make an ink sketch in my sketchbook I use an earth toned watercolor pencil to lightly rough in some directional lines, proportions and basic shapes. This is very rough, not a finished drawing. I am just getting the feel of the bird and it’s pose onto the paper. The watercolor pencil lines are light enough that most of them will disappear by the time I apply watercolor. Any marks that are left can be lifted with my kneaded eraser later.
Next I use my beloved Lamy EF or TWSBI Mini EF fountain pen, with Noodler’s Brown #41 ink, to make the sketch. I use the light watercolor pencil sketch only as a starting point. I do not follow it exactly. My goal is still to capture the feel of the bird rather than to record every detail accurately.
Here you can still see some of the watercolor pencil lines, but they are already disappearing under the ink sketch.
Here I have inked the entire spread and added some written notes and recorded the date and the weather. Also, I have written a quote on a scrap of watercolor paper to be glued onto the spread. My sketchbooks are also my Commonplace Books where I include quotes and interesting bits of information.
Next comes the watercolor. I love this little generic metal palette I have filled with half pans of artist quality paints. I use mostly Daniel Smith, but also have a few other brands like M. Graham, Winsor Newton, Daler-Rowney, Holbein and Old Holland. Colors choose me, independent of brand. Outside the little palette, at the bottom, are a few extra pans - a couple of colors I am experimenting with, as well as Buff Titanium and White Titanium, which I sometimes use for highlights.
I begin by touching in the lightest washes. As I paint I record the colors I use and somewhere on the spread. This adds a fun design element and the color combinations recorded for reference later.
The sketch is complete and another memory is recorded for me to enjoy later.
If you would like to see a list of the paints in my palette and learn about this sketchbook, which is almost finished, as well as my plans for my next sketchbook, please visit my blog https://www.madebyfay.wordpress.com. I hope you enjoyed this post and have been inspired to observe and sketch nature around you, wherever you are.
To see more of Fay’s work visit https://www.madebyfay.wordpress.com. Connect with Fay on Facebook.