progress detail on a piece

Hi I thought I would give a little detail to the laying on of paint to a picture. this is a piece destined for the middle east . It features a Gyr x saker falcon in pursuit of a Houbara bustard. I wont prattle on as the images are self explanatory to the process.

The Storm Skua

Here is a little break down of a just finished Painting . I started the idea for this piece some time ago whilst gathering references of breakers coming in of the back of a storm . we had a low pressure system hit the coast back in Feb 2008! yes that long ago!! I was wondering what to do with these refs for a long time and then on a visit to Bee sands on the South Hams coastline it all started to come together. Whilst having a lovely day with the family on this lovely pebbly beach I was watching Sandwich terns too'ing and fro'ing up and down the beach fishing. After a while there activities stopped abruptly and the reason soon appeared further out in the sea. An Arctic Skua passed by powerfully rowing across the sky on sinuous wings heading out towards start Point Lighthouse. It was a fantastic sighting for me and started my thoughts again about the storm refs I had gathered and I new instantly what bird I should use in it. Here is the progression in Drawings and colour sketches to show how it developed It just shows that some paintings may take years to reach fruition from initial inspiration to completion. and that I probably will re visit the refs I took of the storm on that February day back in 2008 . Enjoy

A NEW BOOK!!

Well I am honoured to announce the release of a fab new Book on Drawing and Painting Birds. Its excellently written by my good friend and genius Artist Tim Wooton. I was very honoured also to be asked by Tim to contribute to the volume. Anyone who has an interest in Drawing and painting wildlife and particularly birds this surely is a must have. It features input from many of the leading lights in the genre of Bird illustration and Painting and I was very pleased to have been involved. You can purchase the book from Tim and on his Blog

40 years of conservation

Needless waste

Came across this and was appalled, what possible threat to any game or fishing lake is an osprey on Migration!!!

The Moorland Bird.

Another of my 15 min paintings although this one actually was more like 25 !! anyway here it is one of in my opinion is the quintessential Moorland birds of my childhood

UNESCO BID ACCEPTED : FALCORY FUTURE NOW ASSURED

UNESCO Have officially recognisied FALCONRY as a world heritage pastime and ensured its world wide practice for generations to come. this is such great news for a pastime with such a rich and varied history.