House Martin painting

I finally finished this painting a couple of days ago - I'd started it quite a while back, but then with all the upheaval of moving house and starting a new job in June it had taken a bit of a back seat. My partner Chris had asked me to paint a bird for him and we chose House Martin as it's one of his favourites - they used to nest outside his bedroom window back at his parents' house in York. I was quite pleased with the final result especially given my past difficulties with drawing and painting birds in flight! Hopefully my next painting won't take so long....

House Martin painting.

Art class at Hereford Museum Resource & Learning Centre

Things are settling down into a new routine now after we moved house and I started a new job at the end of June. We now live in Malvern and it's marvellous, we're 15 minutes' walk from the hills and I'd added Raven and Peregrine to my garden bird list within a week or two of being here! I'm hoping to post some more paintings soon; here is the first one in a while.

Yesterday morning I went to an art class at Hereford Museum Resource & Learning Centre, which I really enjoyed! We were drawing and painting bird specimens from the museum's collection and I was looking forward to being able to closely observe the birds in (relatively) lifelike poses. I've blogged previously about drawing and painting from a dead bird which I didn't enjoy so much, mainly due to its lifeless pose and closed eyes. This time was much more enjoyable, in part because the birds were posed, and also because it was a refreshing change from how I usually paint. We only had 2 hours, and would be working at a large scale on A2-sized paper. First of all we had to choose a bird from the many on offer - here are a couple!

Cuckoo.

Green Woodpecker.

I chose a handsome male Black Grouse; I've enjoyed drawing one previously, especially the blue iridescence of its plumage, and thought I should be able to produce something passable within 2 hours. I used my preferred medium of watercolours.

My chosen specimen!

I didn't quite finish in the allotted time, but was pleased with what I had done. I was able to complete it at home later!

Nearly there...

The finished painting.