Category Archives: Barry Van Dusen Residency

Springtime in the Valley, Part 2

Posted on May 10, 2016 by Barry V.

This is from a series of posts by MABA resident artist Barry Van Dusen

Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary, Easthampton March 22, 2016

Kestrel at Arcadia, watercolor on Arches cold-press, 10.25″ x 13.75″

As John and I are walking back to my car by the bridge, a slender graceful bird alights on a telephone pole – a beautiful male Kestrel! I should have anticipated this species here – the habitat is classic Kestrel country. In fact, I learn from the latest issue of Connections Magazine that Arcadia fledged 4 Kestrels in 2015, and is one of only two Mass Audubon properties where the species currently nests. Whether this is one of Arcadia’s breeding birds is hard to say. We’re right at the beginning of the period when Kestrels return to Massachusetts, so this bird may just be passing through…

After lunch at the visitor center, I hike the Horseshoe Trail to the Old Orchard, then follow the Fern Trail up along the Mill River. The topography is a roller-coaster of humps and hollows, ridges and gullies. These may be glacial in origin, or perhaps remnants of ancient streambeds and banks.

Old Coach Road Trail

Along the River Trail, I play hide and seek with a handsome pair of common mergansers in the Silver Maple Swamp. When I move my scope to get a better view, the birds move too, quickly putting some tree trunks or brush between us.

Common Merganser Pair, sketchbook study, 6″ x 10″

In late afternoon, I return to the grasslands by The Oxbow, hoping to see the Kestrel again. No luck this time, but the sun has swung around and the Mt Tom range is now bathed in soft afternoon light. I set up my field kit for some landscape work.

watercolor nearly finished…

My view is the northern end of the Mt Tom range, where it drops down abruptly to the Connecticut River. I’m looking across the field where I saw the Kestrel this morning. Though not visible in my painting, The Oxbow lies just behind the trees at the end of the field, while the main course of the Connecticut River is on the far side of the mountain.

Mt Tom Range from Arcadia, watercolor on Arches cold-press, 8″ x 11.5″

As I’m painting, one of the eagles soars in from the south and circles over Ned’s Ditch, then peels off to the west. A FINE DAY at Arcadia!

Springtime in the Valley, Part 1

Posted on May 2, 2016 by Barry V.

This is from a series of posts by MABA resident artist Barry Van Dusen

Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary, Easthampton on March 22, 2016

Bald Eagle Nest, detail - at 72 dpi

I know that spring arrives a bit earlier in the Connecticut River Valley, so I head out to Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary in Easthampton this morning. I drive first to the seasonal bridge on Old Springfield Road. This is where the Mill River (which runs through the Sanctuary) empties into The Oxbow. It’s a classic river floodplain landscape.

Floodplain Forest - at 72 dpi

At the bridge (which is closed to vehicular traffic at the moment), I meet John Such of Chicopee, a retired high school science teacher. He knows the area and offers to lead me to a Bald Eagle’s nest on the Sanctuary! John notes that this is the only Bald Eagle nest on a Mass Audubon property.

The expansive grasslands to the north of the bridge attract a variety of grassland birds, and these fields are carefully managed by the Society to provide for the needs of open country birds, many of which are declining in Massachusetts. As an artist, I appreciate the wide open vistas and distant views – quite unlike the landscapes near my home in central Massachusetts. Looking to the southeast across The Oxbow, the handsome hills of the Mt. Tom Range rise above the western bank of the Connecticut River.

We follow a track up along Ned’s Ditch – a large wooded swale between the fields that supports a marsh and floodplain forest. We hear the creaking calls of wood-ducks and the “conk-a-rees” of Red-winged Blackbirds.

Eagle Nest - at 72 dpi

The Eagle nest, by its sheer size, is easy to locate, but to get the best views requires careful positioning of my scope and field stool on the hillside about the “Ditch”. I settle down to watch…

The nest is placed in a main crotch near the top of a large, live tree (oak?), and is truly MASSIVE in size – so much so that the bird’s head, protruding above the mass of sticks and twigs, looks ridiculously tiny! I later learned that Bald Eagles make the largest nest of any single pair of birds!

Sketchbook studies, 4″ x 9″

The bird sits on the nest throughout the hour and a half that I watch. This could be either the male or the female, since both take turns incubating the eggs. The other member of the pair comes to the nest at one point, and appears to pass an article of food to the sitting bird, (though I couldn’t make out what), then quickly departs. Except for an episode where the sitting bird rises up and works diligently at something in the nest, all is quiet. I took this to be a round of egg-turning, which happens every 1 to 2 hours.

I decide to do a painting, but find that the largest paper in my pack is 9″ x 12″. A larger sheet would have been more suitable for the subject, but I start a watercolor, anyway. For the sake of my picture, I make the birds head a little larger, and raise it up a little higher than it typically appeared from my vantage.

Bald Eagle Nest at Arcadia, watercolor on Arches cold-press, 9″ x 12.25″

From my location on the edge of the “Ditch”, I can look to the west and see the nests of a great blue heron colony about a quarter mile away. I scan the nests with my scope, and spot a Great Horned Owl sitting on one of the nests! It’s a distant view, and my photo is rather fuzzy, but you can just make out the bulky, rounded shape of the owl.

GH Owl on Nest - at 72 dpi

I wondered how the owl and the eagle might interact as nesting neighbors. Great Horned Owls have been known to commandeer eagle nests and drive off the eagles – apparently the only native bird capable of doing so.

Spring Snowstorm

Posted on April 22, 2016 by Barry V.

This is from a series of posts by MABA resident artist Barry Van Dusen

Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary, Princeton on March 21, 2016

Horse Barn at WM - at 72 dpi

This is the Horse Barn at Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary, not far from my home. It’s the first day of spring, and through the night, six inches of fresh snow has cloaked the landscape in white. In the course of this mild winter, I’ve had precious few opportunities to paint winter landscapes with SNOW, and I’d like to have some in my Mass Audubon Residency portfolio. This may be my last opportunity, so I head down to Wachusett Meadow with my field kit.

The sky is leaden gray and flurries are still coming down when I start this watercolor. I take special care to capture the close tonalities and soft shadows of a snowy day, and try to develop lots of soft edges to create the effect of moist, dense air.

Horse Barn, Wachusett Meadow - w NO snow - at 72 dpi

You can see a few sheep in the corral, and the open door to the lower level of the barn, where barn swallows zip in and out in summer to their nests on the overhead beams. Mass Audubon has recently done a lot of work on this structure. Large parts of the stone foundation have been rebuilt to shore up a sagging roofline, other parts have been re-shingled, and bright new barn doors have been added on the front. I’m happy to see venerable old New England barns treated with such care and respect!

Later in my studio, I decide that I want an even “snowier” effect. I use a technique of spattering white droplets over the sheet to give the effect of a spring snow squall.

Snow Spatter set-up - at 72 dpi

I’ve found that acrylic Gesso works well for this – it’s very opaque, very white, and has some body to it for spattering with a large bristle brush. You’ve got to thin down the Gesso with water to get the right consistency, and perhaps this is the trickiest part. If you get it right, you’ll produce the right size droplets when flicked off the brush. Those red sheets of paper are my “test” sheets. I’m aiming for a mix of large and small droplets, since in a snowstorm you see larger flakes closer to you, and smaller ones further off.

Horse Barn, Wachusett Meadow - w SNOW - at 72 dpi

The Horse Barn, Wachusett Meadow, watercolor on Arches rough, 10.25″ x 14″

I’ve learned to use restraint with this technique, and yes, I’ve ruined a few good watercolors by overdoing it!

Buds and Bubos

Posted on April 12, 2016 by Barry V.

This is from a series of posts by MABA resident artist Barry Van Dusen

HABITAT Wildlife Sanctuary, Belmont on February 29, 2016

Robin and Sumac at Highland Farm Meadow

An ice storm in recent days has left the ground littered with broken branches, some piled along the sanctuary trails for removal. I realize it’s a good opportunity to get a close looks at twigs and terminal buds that are normally high overhead. A big sassafras as the edge of the meadow has lost a number of good sized branches, so I comb over them, looking for particularly interesting twigs and buds. The thick, curved twigs are a rich mustard color and the large buds are suffused with pink and olive. I break off a few twigs, and put them in my pack.

Sassafras Twigs 2 at HABITAT - at 72 dpi

Sketchbook study of Sassafras Twigs, watercolor and pencil, 9″ x 5″

I had learned from staff members that great horned owls have been frequenting a grove of pines near the intersection of the Fern and Red Maple Trails, and may have a nest there. I find the grove of big pines (which looks like a perfect place for a great horned nest) and give the area a thorough search. I find one suspicious clump of twigs and branches halfway up a pine trunk, but it doesn’t look big enough to support a Great Horned Owl nest. Perhaps it’s the beginning of a nest? I set up my pack chair at a distance, then settle down and take out my sassafras twigs and sketchbook. I’m hoping I might see or hear an owl while I’m quietly drawing and painting the twigs. Great Horned Owls are the earliest native birds to nest in our region, laying eggs as early as mid-February, and incubating them through late February and into March. If a pair is in the area, they should be well into the nesting cycle.

Great Horned Owl on Nest - at 72 dpi (cropped)

Great Horned Owl on Nest, Northboro, MA, April 2011

I have had only one opportunity to observe and draw a Great Horned Owl on a nest, and that was in Northboro, Massachusetts in April 2011. That nest was also in a big white pine, and if I positioned my scope just right, I got clear views of the adult on the nest. I was hoping for a similar opportunity at Habitat, but it was not to be. I saw or heard no owls today. I include my painting of the Northboro owl here, since a nest in the pine grove at Habitat would have looked very similar.

Songbird Studies at Weeks Pond, pencil, 5″ x 9.5″

After lunch, I explore more of the sanctuary. On the trail to Weeks Pond, a brown creeper calls from the trees along Atkins Brook. At the pond itself, I notice several signs of spring. A single red-winged blackbird calls from the treetops, and in a wet swale next to the pond, skunk cabbage is poking up. Its rich colors and patterns stand out in the winter landscape, a portent of things to come…

Skunk Cabbage

Piles of red maple branches around the pond again allow me close looks at the terminal buds, and I collect more twigs. Back in my studio, I put them in a vase of water, and a week later the buds started to open, so I painted them from life at my drawing board.

Red Maple Twigs, watercolor on Arches hot-press, 9.5″ x 13.5″

Are there more red-tailed hawks around these days, or is it just me? I’m watching a hairy woodpecker at Weeks Meadow when a big bird swoops in to land in the lower branches of a nearby tree. It’s a handsome young red-tail, attracted to a noisy mob of house sparrows in the thicket below. The bird is MUCH closer than the one I observed at Pierpont Meadow (see Beavertowns, Feb 1, 2016). With my scope, I can see every detail of its plumage and anatomy with startling clarity. On a raptor, the two points of high drama are the face and the feet. For a while this bird’s head is obscured by a branch, but I’ve got great views of its feet and lower body, and decide to start a drawing.

Sketchbook page, pencil, 9″ x 12″

Later, the bird shifts and I have a view of the whole bird – that’s when I start this watercolor on a separate sheet.

Young Redtail, watercolor on Arches cold-press, 12″ x 9″

Young birds, being rather clueless, can be excellent models. I’m in full view of the bird, and though I move myself and the scope several times to get better views, the bird seemed totally oblivious to my presence!

Positive Thoughts on Negative Shapes

Posted on April 3, 2016 by Barry V.

Lake Wampanoag, Gardner

The third sanctuary I visited for this project, back on May 4, 2015, was Lake Wampanoag in Gardner. (see A Taste of the North, May 4, 2015). That day, I found some striking pileated woodpecker excavations in a red spruce tree. I found the holes in the usual way – woods chips scattered across the trail caused me to stop and look up. The holes were very fresh. The heartwood glowed a bright orangey-tan, outlined by the rich burnt sienna of the inner bark.

Spruce w Pileated WP Holes, Lake Wampanoag - at 72 dpi

sketchbook page, 9″ x 12″

I made this pencil drawing at the time, and took some color notes. As usual in cases like this, I never saw the bird. However, pileated woodpeckers are common around my home in Princeton and I’ve had many opportunities to observe and sketch them in the past.

Weeks passed, then months. But the spruce trunk and those woodpecker holes stuck in my mind, and I finally got around to developing them into something more…

the work in progress…

In the studio, I worked up some sketches of a male pileated to “fit” with the spruce trunk, taking care to adjust the viewpoint, scale, pose and balance. Working at a large size is much easier in the studio than in the field, so I scaled things up here. At 22.5″ x 14″, this is the largest watercolor I’ve done for the residency so far. The composition I developed is as much a portrait of the holes as it is of the bird, and I liked this idea of a dual center of interest, with both carrying equal weight. After all, you couldn’t have one without the other!

Pileated Crest retouched - step 1 - at 72 dpi

When I want a red note in a watercolor to really POP, I almost always start with an under layer of pure lemon yellow. I allow this to dry completely, and then glaze over it with a strong wash of cadmium red.

Pileated Crest - step 2 - at 72 dpi

The yellow under layer gives the red a glowing quality that it would not possess by itself.

I originally intended to add a full background to this painting – or at least a background tone. But as the work progressed, I realized that I didn’t need a background of any kind, and that the bird and tree trunk alone made a stronger statement. The spruce tree here acts as a surrogate for the environment – representing those unusual, cool spruce woods at Wampanoag.

Pileated Woodpecker and Red Spruce, dropout - at 72 dpi

Pileated Woodpecker and Red Spruce, watercolor on Winsor & Newton cold-press, 22.5″ x 14″

Another reason I decided to leave out the background was because the negative shapes (i.e. the white shapes between and around the objects) worked nicely to strengthen the composition and reinforce the main subjects.

This is not always the case. Take a look at this watercolor done last spring at High Ledges in Shelburne (see On the Waterthrush Trail, May 21, 2015).

Canada Warbler in Witch-hazel, High Ledges - at 72 dpi

I always felt there was a problem with this painting – the negative shapes overwhelmed the subject and made the image visually confusing. The negative shapes were definitely working against me, here. Just recently I added a full background, with more witch-hazel leaves and stems, and a background tone.

Canada Warbler in Witch-hazel, REVISED, High Ledges - at 72 dpi

I like the painting much better now. The bird takes center stage, as it should, and that glowing yellow throat and belly have a lot more impact! I hope you like it better too, since there’s no going back!

Beavertowns

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Barry V.

This is from a series of posts by MABA resident artist Barry Van Dusen

February 1, 2016
Pierpont Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary, Dudley

Beaver Pond at Pierpont Meadow - at 72 dpi
From the parking area for Pierpont Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary, there’s a fine view of a beavertown. You’re looking down onto a small pond tucked between rolling open fields. Most of the pond is covered with ice this morning, but there are two open patches – one along the beaver dam at the south end, and another around the lodge near the opposite shore.

Redtail studies, Pierpont Meadow - at 72 dpi

Sketchbook study of an adult Red-tailed Hawk, pencil, 8.5″ x 9″

A handsome adult red-tailed hawk is perched on a dead snag near the dam, so I move cautiously to set up my scope and draw. You never know how long you’ve got with a bird like this, so I work quickly. But I’m a good distance away and the hawk does not seem bothered by my presence. It grants me the time I need to finish my drawings, then takes off and starts making wide circles over the pond. Red-tails are quite variable in plumage, so painting one often feels less like painting a species of bird and more like painting an individual. This adult has a rather pale head, strongly checkered scapulars, and no real belly-band like you see in the field guides. This isn’t just any Red-tail, it’s THE Pierpont Meadow Red-tail!

Red-tail at Pierpont Meadow, watercolor on Winsor & Newton cold-press, 15.5″ x 12″

There’s less than a mile of trails at Pierpont Meadow, so I’ll have ample time to explore the entire property. I linger along the Meadow Loop Trail, looking at birds’ nests and sorting out the various species of shrubs and trees. Some pussy willows are just emerging, which seems quite early in the year. I admire the carmine twigs and tar-black buds, and examine the cone-shaped galls that form at the tips of some of the branches. Starting some drawings, I discover a new use for my telescope: I use it to temporarily hold down some twigs that would otherwise be too high-up to work with.

Pussy Willows and Scope - at 72 dpi

Pussy Willow Twigs and Galls, watercolor on Arches hot-press, 9″ x12″

Along the George Marsh Trail, I’m puzzled by some tall seed heads rising up out of the leaf litter on the forest floor. I gently clear some leaves from around the base of one of the stalks and am surprised to find the beautifully patterned leaves of rattlesnake plantain, fresh and green!

Rattlesnake Plantain

Along the shore of Pierpont Meadow Pond, another beavertown is much in evidence. Drifts of pond lily roots (a favorite food of beavers) float along the shore and a well-worn trough leads up into the forest. Trees (some of them very large) are being felled well back into the woods. Obviously a busy lumbering operation must be taking place here every night!

Beaver Cuttings 1 - at 72 dpi

Beaver Cuttings 2A - at 72 dpi

The lodge for this beavertown is built into the bank of the pond, and is plastered with a thick coating of mud. I’ve read that beavers use mud to “seal” their lodges, covering all but the air vent. When winter cold freezes the mud, it forms a cement-hard barrier that deters predators like coyotes and bobcats.

Beaver Lodge at Pierpont Meadow Pond - at 72 dpi

Back at the parking area, the sun has moved across the sky, and the light on beavertown #1 is better than it was this morning, so I set up my field easel.

Painting in progress at Pierpont Meadow

Thanks to today’s mild temperatures, my watercolor paints flow freely and my hands stay warm. I’ve nearly finished by the time the skies start to darken and a cold wind kicks up. It’s not often in Massachusetts that I’ve painted watercolors outdoors in early February!

Beaver Pond at Pierpont Meadow - at 72 dpi

Beaver Pond at Pierpont Meadow, watercolor on Arches cold-press, 9.5″ x13″

Gull-ology

Posted on March 8, 2016 by Barry V.

This is from a series of posts by MABA resident artist Barry Van Dusen

January 26, 2016

Eastern Point Wildlife Sanctuary, Gloucester, Part 2

I had brought along Chris Leahy’s excellent GUIDE TO WINTER BIRDING ON CAPE ANN, published by Bird Observer Magazine. This special reprint (I covet my copy), covers every nook and cranny along Cape Ann’s shore, with detailed notes on access, vantage points, and perhaps most importantly in this tight mix of public and private land – PARKING! Although I spent most of my day at the sanctuary, I used this guide to explore adjacent areas, all of which are prime hotspots for birds.

Ring-billed Gull, Onset, Oct 2014 - at 72 dpi

Ring-billed Gull – one of the common gull species at Eastern Point

The area is of special interest to those interested in gulls and gull identification. Indeed, you could hardly find a better spot than Eastern Point in winter for a good variety of Larids. Today, and with Jim Berry’s help, I observed seven species of gulls in dozens of plumages. Besides the more common species – Herring, Great Black-backed, Ring-billed and Bonaparte’s – we found as many as six Iceland Gulls, two Glaucous gulls and one Black-headed gull!

Gulls at Niles Pond - at 72 dpi
Here’s the drill: You set up your scope at Niles Pond and methodically work your way through the throng of gulls loafing on the ice. You look for anything unusual or out-of-place: individuals of a slightly different size, odd colored legs and bills, slightly lighter or darker mantles, subtle shifts in overall color, and especially – pale wing tips.
The view of Niles Pond from the south end of Brace Cove was the best spot for studying gulls, today. Not only was this spot closest to the birds, but it was protected from the wind, and I could sketch comfortably.

Sketchbook studies of a Glaucous Gull, pencil, 9″ x 12″

Sketchbook studies of an adult Iceland Gull, pencil and watercolor, 9″ x 12″

Brace Cove Beach was also a good spot for gulls. The sub-adult Iceland gull in this painting was foraging in the waves just off the beach, and a nearby flock of Bonaparte’s gulls was joined by a single black-headed gull.

Iceland Gull (subadult), watercolor on Winsor & Newton cold press, 12″ x 16″

Lands End

Posted on February 28, 2016 by Barry V.

This is from a series of posts by MABA resident artist Barry Van Dusen

January 26, 2016
Eastern Point Wildlife Sanctuary, Gloucester, PART 1
Eastern Point Wildlife Sanctuary is a small reserve, but it boasts a surprising diversity of habitats, including a mixed deciduous forest, a meadow, a cobble beach, rocky shorelines and a small saltmarsh.

Eastern Point Lighthouse

At the sanctuary parking lot, you realize you’ve driven as far out the East Gloucester peninsula as solid ground will allow (at the very tip of the peninsula is the Eastern Point Lighthouse).
I am surrounded by ocean – the relatively protected waters of Gloucester Harbor lie to the west, and to the south and east are the vast expanses of the Atlantic. To the north, a small cove hosts a handsome flock of red-breasted mergansers, along with gadwall, mallards and a few buffleheads and eiders.

Red-breasted Merganser, watercolor on Arches hot-press, 10.25″ x 14″

The tiny adjacent saltmarsh is undergoing restoration to restore natural water flow and encourage native vegetation, but I could see that it was already a favorite haunt of mallards and black ducks.

Eastern Point Saltmarsh

Out in the harbor are more of the same species, joined by a winter loon and a few pairs of surf scoters. One pair of scoters favors the area near shore, affording excellent views through the scope. Aside from puffins, few birds in New England have such outrageous bills! I start some drawings of the shapes and patterns involved, but with the birds bouncing around on the waves and diving frequently, and my eyes watering badly from the wind, my drawings are less than successful. Several times I retreat to the car to warm my hands. Nonetheless, I feel that my attempts are worthwhile, since the act of drawing brings an urgent attention to my observations, and supplies confidence for subsequent efforts back in the studio.

Surf Scoter, watercolor on arches cold-press, 9″ x 12″

Painting moving water has always been a challenge for me. If you over-render waves, they start to look frozen in place and you lose the sense of movement. I find it works best if I paint very quickly in a loose, gestural manner, and try to develop both soft and hard edges at the same time. I like to warm up my brush hand with a separate “practice sheet” before I tackle the final watercolor. That way I can start to feel the gesture of the waves, and develop a hand for the type of marks that will work best.

Witch-hazel studies, Eastern Point - at 72 dpi

Witch-hazel sketchbook studies, pencil and watercolor, 8″ x 10″

The trails through the forest are easily explored in an hour or so, and they offer shelter this morning from the wind. I find I can sketch comfortably, and make studies of some of the plants that catch my eye. The witch-hazel twigs here show a tight zigzag pattern, and I’m puzzled by small clumps of curious seed pods poking up through the snow. Later, I learned that the seed pods were those of Indian Pipes. As Joe Choiniere explained to me: “Although the flowers nod, the entire structure turns upward as it goes to seed and often fools people”.

Indian Pipe seed capsules, sketchbook study, pencil and watercolor, 5″ x 6″

Gloucester is a popular winter destination for birders, so I am not surprised to meet some today, including Jim Berry, an expert in Essex County birds. He points out a group of about forty purple sandpipers hunkered down on the lee side of the Dog Bar Breakwater – a bit too far off for sketching. Jim also helps me sort out the gulls around the point today (stay tuned for part 2 – Gull-ology). Most of the birders are, of course, moving from spot to spot in search of “good birds”, whereas I confine my observations to the sanctuary and the immediate vicinity. If you want to “do art”, you can’t run around a lot, too!

Solitary Ruminations

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Barry V.

This is from a series of posts by MABA resident artist Barry Van Dusen

December 1, 2015

Solitary Sandpiper sketchbook studies - at 72 dpi

solitary sandpiper field sketches, pencil, 9″ x 12″

After every sanctuary visit, my head is filled with images and impressions, especially in the first few days afterwards. But as time passes, certain impressions are more persistent than others, and linger for days, even weeks. The solitary sandpipers foraging on the grassy mudbars at Skunknett River (see “A Skunky Place for Eels”, Skunknett River Wildlife Sanctuary, Oct 11, 2015) is a case in point. Something about the way the soft round volumes of the birds related to the gentle greens of the grass kept nagging at me, and I knew I needed to explore the impression in paint. (The winter months are a good time for developing these lingering impressions in the studio.)

I keep what I call “studio sketchbooks” on hand for exploring these types of ideas. The drawings in these books are NOT field drawings. They are, instead, explorations of picture ideas. Getting something down on paper focuses my thoughts and intentions.

Solitary Sandpipers picture idea - at 72 dpi

concept sketch of solitary sandpipers, pencil, 9″ x 12″

Using the sketches made at Skunknett, I first tried a scene with two birds, one passive and one active. Somehow, it didn’t match the vision in my mind. Examining some rather poor photos taken through my scope at Skunknett, I realized that what most interested me was the way the soft, round volume of the bird seemed to merge with the grasses, and all the tonal transitions were subtle and soft.

Solitary Sandpiper in the Grass 2 - at 72 dpi

photo taken through scope at Skunknett River Wildlife Sanctuary

Making another pencil sketch with just one bird, I adjusted the tones to get the softer feeling I was after. Now, I seemed to be getting closer to my original impression.

Solitary Sandpipers picture idea 2A - at 72 dpi

Concept sketch of solitary sandpiper, pencil, 7″ x 9″

I started my watercolor with two simple washes on a wet sheet- establishing the tone of the bird’s belly shadow and the green grass, and letting them merge slightly on the wet paper. These two washes established the tone and mood, and all subsequent washes were keyed to them.

Solitary Sandpiper in the Grass - at 72 dpi

Solitary Sandpiper at Skunknett River, watercolor on Arches rough, 9″ x 12.25″

December Birds

Posted on February 4, 2016 by Barry V.

December 7, 2015
Attleboro Springs Wildlife Sanctuary, Attleboro
Early December is one of those in-between times for birders. The migrations of autumn are mostly past, and the winter visitors have yet to arrive. A walk in the woods at this season can seem devoid of avian creatures, but this morning at Attleboro Springs Wildlife Sanctuary, I manage to be in the right place at the right time.

Cardinal at Attleboro Springs - at 72 dpi

Cardinal at Attleboro Springs, watercolor on Arches coldpress, 12″x 9″

Birds tend to gather into mixed flocks at this time of year, roaming together in their search for food. Most of the birds in these “guilds” are year-round residents, but some are late migrants (e.g. white-throated sparrows), and some are winter residents – birds from the north who spend the winter in our area (e.g. juncos and tree sparrows). The path to the Meadow passes through a brushy thicket, where I encounter one of these winter flocks. The thicket is catching the rays of the morning sun and forming a warm, protected pocket. There are lots of juncos and white-throats, along with chickadees, blue jays and robins. A Carolina wren, a downy woodpecker, a nuthatch and a male cardinal round out the group.

White-throat at Attleboro Springs - at 72 dpi

White-throat at Attleboro Springs, watercolor on Winsor & Newton coldpress, 9″ x 10.5″

The white-throats and cardinal are especially cooperative, so I take some photos and start some drawings that I later finish in the studio. I depict the white-throat deep in the thicket, surrounded by bramble canes; while the cardinal is in a higher perch above the tangle.

Alder Twigs, Attleboro Springs - at 72 dpi

sketchbook study of alder twigs, pencil, 5.5″ x 9″

At Brother’s Pond, I’m engrossed with drawing the alder catkins and twigs, when another group of birds moves through. Most are juncos, but there’s also some flashes of cobalt blue – a family group of bluebirds! The adults and youngsters are scouting out cavities in the red maple snags along the canal below the pond. Bluebirds, being cavity nesters, are instinctively drawn to holes in trees, and these birds flit from snag to snag, peering into holes and crevices.

Young Bluebirds, Attleboro Springs - at 72 dpi

Young Bluebirds at Attleboro Springs, sketchbook page, pencil and watercolor, 9″ x 12″

Puddingstone looms large in local lore and legend, and figures prominently on the sanctuary maps of both Oak Knoll and Attleboro Springs. Puddingstone is a conglomerate that consists of rounded stones embedded in a “cement” or matrix of contrasting-colored rock, giving the appearance of a raisin pudding. The Attleboro variety of puddingstone features purplish cobbles embedded in a greenish matrix. I find the most attractive examples of these distinctive rocks in an outcropping along the Reflection Trail.

Puddingstone