Welp...

It has been almost a year since I posted anything here... 

It has been almost as long since I even drew ANYTHING!?

I cleaned my pens today.

Lets see where that takes us... 

Waiting...

I should clarify, this has nothing to do with the previous post. Just a regular waiting room for a regular appointment!

Of all the places I have to wait for appointments of people, this is my favourite. It is usually very quite and comfortable... (Today the radio was on and I had to listen to commercial radio...) 

Waiting

I haven't been posting much here, lately. Probably because I haven't been drawing or painting as much the last few months. I did do a few drawings while sitting in waiting rooms and offices over the few months, however...

Finnegan aged out of the Pediatric Diabetes program, so in February we went to meet his new adult endocrinologist. Diabetes sucks chunks, but it's made slightly less awful when you have decent people keeping an eye on these things and it was a huge relief to meet the new doctor and find he was competent and compassionate. 

Colours are funny. The wall in the background here is the same as the one behind Finnegan... but in the picture above with Finnegan it looks more yellow (it's green in the sketchbook).

New sketchbook. pages aren't as thick and sometimes stuff bleeds through. 

Just after I'd started a woman sat down in the black chair and noticed I was drawing, she apologized and asked if it would ruin the drawing. I'd mostly sketched out the line work, so it made no difference. 

A quiet afternoon as the Saskatoon Community Clinic. Again, about halfway through this one, a group of four came in and sat in some of these chairs... They were less aware of what I was doing. 

Same place, a couple weeks later. I think I did the colouring, for this one, after we got home and despite having taken a reference photo (below), I did it from memory... which, obviously, is not always 100%. 

I never take pictures while drawing in waiting rooms - This was while we were waiting in the examination room. 

It was a long wait, and I brought along one of my Derwent Inktense Paint Pan Travel Sets and tried colouring there with a limited palette. (most of these I've coloured with Derwent Inktense pencils - as it's a bit less messy when on the move and can even be wetted later, if there won't be time to dry before the book has to be closed and squirrelled away)

Same room a couple weeks later, different angle - looking at the chair I was sitting in in the previous picture. 

This fellow joined me in the waiting room. I only got a brief look at his face, because whenever I looked up he'd notice and look over at me! Most of it was done from memory afterwards. 

Birbs of Saskatchetoon - Canada Goose

 Since as long as I can remember, there have been Canada Geese that overwintered here along the river - often rather large flocks of them. So it was surprising to me that I didn't see ANY... ALL WINTER (so far!) this year! I finally spotted a pair on the weekend. I doubt they're migrants returning from a sunny vacation in Mexico... they've just been hiding...SOMEWHERE around here!? 

I almost didn't see these at all, I'd stopped to get a better look at a nearby duck I'd spotted from the bridge (It looked like it had a reddish head - but turned out to be a trick of the light or something, as it was just Common Goldeneye). These were completely hidden from view from the bridge, and even where I was standing on the trail they weren't super clear, because they just kind of blended in with the surrounding shades of grey... 

But there they were - a pair of Canada Geese! 

Over the weekend I got to working on a few illustrations... 

Quick sketch in one sketchbook... 

Then I got to working on a few more in other sketchbooks and on separate pages. 

I have a problem with not being patient enough to wait for things to completely dry before trying to do another layer or adjacent colour and almost always apply more ink/paint too early and RUIN things... 

I have this idea that if I'm doing MULTIPLE copies of similar things, maybe it will take me enough time to do the one colour on all of them that by the time I get back to the first one, it will be dry.... 

This rarely works out in reality... 

More colours. 

Not sure why that Bohemian Waxwing painting remains on the painting table... guess I just haven't found a better place to put it and was so focused on these others I kind of didn't even notice it was there... 

Story of my life... 

Finished version of Canada Geese in Birbs of Saskatchetoon Sketchbook. 

(head's a bit small on the one in the back... dammit...) 

Canada Geese - 20cmx20cm (8'x8"), Ink on Watercolour Paper 

Canada Geese - 30cmx30cm (12'x12"), Ink on Watercolour Paper 

Birbs of Saskatchetoon - House Finch

EDIT: I initially misidentified this as a Purple Finch, but it has been brought to my attention that what I was actually looking at was a HOUSE Finch! (I may have put a bit too much red on it's head...) 

I haven't seen any NEW birds to add to the Birbs of Saskatchetoon Sketchbook for a few weeks. 

On Thursday, I was out a ride and, near the end, in a spot I don't really often see birds... I spotted a bird! It was on a branch at the top of a bush! I slowed a bit to have a look.  Initially thought it was a sparrow but then noted it was RATHER REDDISH on the head! 

It took a moment, but I realized I was looking at a House Finch! So I stopped and quickly got off a few snaps before it chirped out a singsongy little tune and flew off!

House Finch in the Birbs of Saskatchetoon Sketchbook. 

It was a really fabulous end to a rather enjoyable ride. I'd seen two Coyotes in a field north of the university and pretty sure I HEARD a blue jay and... well there was another exciting thing that happened... but I'll save that for another post! 

There are the few pics I snapped before it flew off... 

Birbs of Saskatchetoon - Bohemian Waxwing

Back in the Merlin post, I mentioned on that same day I saw a HUGE flock of birds that I saw from a distance... 

These ones.. 

I mentioned I thought they might be some kind of Waxwing...? I know there are Bohemian Waxwings and Cedar Waxwings... but I didn't know the difference or which might be in Saskatoon in great flocks in teh winter making a clear trilling sound. 

I was them again on the 26th - a bit closer this time. 

Not enough to make out colour details. 

But definitely close enough to see the crest on their heads. And, again, could hear a clear trilling sound coming from them. 

In further discussion with another friend that knows way more about birds, he confirmed that it was in fact, Bohemian Waxwings that I'd seen... so I went ahead and did a picture... 

Bohemian Waxwings in the Birbs of Saskatchetoon Sketchbook

Bohemian Waxwings - 20cmx20xm (8'x8"), Ink on Watercolour Paper 

Decided to change things up today and instead of concentrating on details on ONE bird - as I saw neither details, nor just ONE bird - I'd try and paint a bunch of them in a tree as I saw them! 

This gets me all caught up with the birds I spotted in January, and so far this year (it was REALLY COLD  this past week and I barely went out at all!) 

I guess I better get our riding again and looking for some new birds. 

Birbs of Saskatchetoon - Common Goldeneye

 It was never my intent to paint picture perfect illustrations of birds - like you might see in a birding manual. I wanted to make the identifiable, but really wanted to keep it fun and lively and maybe a bit expressionistic - trying to capture the gesture of the bird in the situation in which I first spotted it...? 

I even thought I might add speech bubbles containing whatever irreverent things I imagine birds might be thinking or saying to each other... I still might... 

I've not been totally happy with the first few that went into the book - which actually left me feeling like a dummy for not starting in DECEMBER and PRACTICING drawing birds for a month before starting in. I'll have to learn to live with it. Perhaps it will, in addition to keeping a record of the birds I saw this year, show a progression or ability and techniques experimented with, incorporated and... maybe not "mastered"... but at least got "good enough" with...? 

These two are the first I've really felt like "yeah, that's kind of almost what I was shooting for..."

Common Goldeneyes pass through the souther parts of the province in the spring and fall - heading to breeding ground in the north for the summer. But there are a fair few that overwinter here in town. They are definitely the most common water fowl I've seen all winter - often appearing in groups of three or four or five. Often diving under the water for a minute before reappearing a little further downstream. 

I see them just about every day that I go out and I saw the first ones of the year on the 3rd or 4th - the first day I headed out of the house and travelled along the river. 

Two Common Goldeneyes (male and female) in the Birbs of Saskatchetoon sketchbook. 

Extra one I did for funsies while working on the one in the book 

Just a few of the "reference" photos I took in the last week or so... 

I can't tell you how many times THIS happened - lining up to take a shot and BLOOP under they went. It was common enough that I was considering doing disturbed water as the pictures for the Goldeneye, but then decided against it... 

Here are a few of the pictures I managed to take BEFORE they dove - or just as they came back up (if I was feeling patient - and WARM - enough!) 

Getting a bit behind here. I think the next bird I saw was a Mallard - but that was almost two weeks ago! I guess I better get on it! 

I'm almost afraid to go out lest I see another new bird and get further behind! 

Flight of the Servo-Skulls from the Xoxigar Forges

...and now for something completely different... 

Flight of the Servo-Skulls from the Xoxigar Forges: Even in Death Duty Does Not End

15cmx15cm - Ink, watercolour, paper.

Birbs of Saskatchetoon - House Sparrow

 

The only other birds I saw, for the first few days of January, were hordes of the ubiquitous House Sparrow, ceaselessly assaulting our feeders.

I may have gone a little overboard with this one…

TOO. MANY. BIRDS.

Then got sick of it part way through and just wanted to get it done.

Ugh.

Now it’s done.

Time to move on, I guess…

Here are a few of the pics (of over 100!?) I took of the birds at the feeders...