Floating Red Kites

 

No, not the sort you can fly in the blustery weather we've ben having but you do catch sight of these kites  floating in the sky above you as you walk through Jubilee wood and  what a wonderful sight it is too .

 

 

 

 

Pencil and watercolour reference sketches

 

The red kite [Milvus milvus]was re-introduced to this area several years ago and they have been spectacularly successful in breeding and becoming a normal part of the rural landscape.  When fully grown they can have a wingspan of 2 metres and at this time of year  they are busy calling or 'mewing' to their mates, who they usually keep for life, and it's  a lovely sound as they soar above you in the bright blue sky with those distinctive forked tails and white bars under their wings. 

The young woodland provides cover for a lot of small mammals but the kites are always on the lookout  for small prey and carrion.   Next month I might be lucky enough to see their aerial displays as the breeding season starts.   Spring must be coming!

Branching form: prints

I am learning more about woodcuts and the Jubilee Wood and Tree Following projects will give me some good subjects to play with.  These are two prints from earlier this week. One a monoprint, the other a woodcut. I am using a simple branching shape to experiment with techniques… interesting.

Tree Sketches

With our Jubilee Wood project in mind, this week I am looking at trees, in all sorts of ways. Today I walked down to the reservoir where along the side of the main path are a magnificent stand of poplars. They are regal. It’s really the first time I have looked carefully at the fascinating rhythmic branching pattern.  I made a few quick sketches of the poplar and a few other  local trees.

The old oak and the branching poplar, A5 sketchbook

Sycamore and the twiggy downward arching willow, complete with camellia galls.

and, back home, a simplification of the poplar pattern.

Suddenly many Art Deco designs make sense to me!

Winter woodland

The weather this last week has been a good reminder that winter is not going to slip out quietly, even if the first signs of spring are here with the narrow, dark green snowdrop leaves pushing their way up through the ground. After the first scattering of snow I walked through the Jubilee Wood one  afternoon just as the sun was dipping down and caught sight of some bird tracks in the snow. Identifying them is not my strong point but after a bit of research I think I can safely say they belonged to a pheasant.......

  
A very quick sketch with watercolour and gouache to help remind me of  the shape of the prints running  along the edge of the hedge in the crunchy snow. Many pheasants are now using the wood for cover as both the trees and ground cover are  growing up  and providing them with somewhere to hide, forage and roost for the night.

Pencil and watercolour in sketchbook [30x20cm]

 

Phasianus colchicus,  known to most of us as the pheasant, is Britain's most widespread game bird  and originally came from Asia and China. The strong markings and neck colour of the adult makes it easy to identify and ideal as a subject for a print so I had better start putting these sketches to some use...... 

 

 

As for the greater spotted woodpecker print which I started last time, I've now got a much better idea of how the finished piece will look  after putting the vinyl block through the press

 

Dendrocopos major

 

I still have some more work to do on this piece, but am pleased with the composition in general. The next stage will be to print the small areas of red on the head of the juvenile at the front and the male in the centre of the picture.

Grasshopper first print

I am not sure I can really call this a grasshopper. I have taken quite a bit of artistic license with it, but it’s fine for some more experiments and does have some of the essence of the sketches and grasshoppery-ness about it. I have been reading about the difference between crickets and grasshoppers and, as usual, it all becomes more and more fascinating the more you find out.

Drawing, block  and first proof…

 

I have quite a few more prints and drawings and ideas for this little chap in progress so more in a weeks time.