Forthcoming Art Workshops at Swanwick Lakes

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds

I was lucky enough to see a male and female Ruby-throated Hummingbird in a garden in north New Hampshire.  They were feeding on a flowering shrub and presumably returning to a nearby nest site on the edge of the woodland bordering the garden.

The sketches were completed from photographs that I took at the time, and due to the intense heat over here I declined to use watercolours and used coloured pencils instead.  I think I may have said before, but I really like the way that the pencils lend themselves to sketches of birds.

More details of the Hummingbirds and other species that I have sketched, can be found on the Swanwick Lakes Art Project blog at:

http://naturalyear-swanwick.blogspot.com/

Lobster Buoys

Whilst travelling along the coast of Maine it is quite common to see old lobster buoys hung up outside houses.  There is something appealing about the aged ones that you see, the variety of colours is what appeals to me along with the imperfections.

In gift shops in some of the towns you come across hand decorated painted buoys offered as household ornaments, these just do not do it for me !

Their main purpose is to be tied to the rope that is then attached to the lobster pot when it is dropped into the sea.  The buoy, as like other buoys floats on the surface and each fisherman generally has their own colour buoys to identify their lobster pots.  The modern buoys are now made out of plastic.

Whilst in Maine I started to paint several buoys taken from the image above.  I used Daniel Smith watercolour paints along with some from my normal palette, that consist of Winsor and Newton and Old Holland Artist watercolours.  The painting was completed on Strathmore 400 cold-pressed watercolour paper, which I loved using.  It was a welcome change after using hot-pressed paper for a long period of time.