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Wildlife and Art combined is the topic that begins this year’s blog posts.
Regular readers of this blog will know I’m a fan of the Aigas Field Centre. I lead the Art Week there each year and it’s a truly lovely experience. Aigas is closed for the winter season at the moment, but you can still experience it from the comfort of your own locked-down home.
Among the many feeding stations around the grounds, one has a camera trained on it, providing real time images for anyone who cares to take a look. Here’s the link https://www.aigas.co.uk/the-aigas-experience/wildlife-hides/. As I’m writing this, I’ve been watching Siskin, Red Squirrel, Goldcrest and various other woodland species. It’s joyous, at a time when we should seize on every good feeling we can find.
I love that we’re on eye level with the wildlife. It really gives a sense of being in their world.
Better yet, it gives us an opportunity to sketch wildlife without even leaving our homes. Granted, the birds move very quickly, but the plus side is that they often return to the same poses. So spend time just looking and analysing what you see. Then start with a few simple shapes, correcting and adding more detail as you go. Even the simplest lines can give a sense of the pose.
As with anything, practice makes perfect. Or at least makes improvement. Perfection may take longer!
We’ve dealt with how to sketch moving subjects on this blog, so do look back at those posts for some pointers. If you want more in-depth help, check out the post on How to Draw Wildlife book recommendations. Links to both are below.
Do add links of other wildlife live feeds in the comments below, if you have any particular favourites you’d like to share.
If you’d like to join us on the Aigas Art Week this year, the dates are 25 Sept – 02 Oct 2021. Contact Aigas for more information.
Related Posts
How Do You Draw Birds When They’re Always Moving? (Part 1)
How Do You Draw Birds When They’re Always Moving? (Part 2)
Four Books To Help You Draw Birds
If you need help with the fundamentals of drawing anything, I recommend starting here, at the beginning of the Aigas Art Challenge.
