Small steps this past week...

  

Well I thought I would have been finished with this by now but those little things in life that pop up every once in awhile and scream “take care of me NOW” have to be taken care of. 

I have the background about finished although I believe that I will need to go in and make it a bit darker so that the “white” of the pelican really pops out. It will just be a small adjustment in the overall tone of the water but the reason that I wanted to draw this piece was because of the extreme white of the pelican and I really want that to come through on the finished drawing. 

I plan to go in tomorrow and start working on the rest of the pelican and hopefully finish it and then make the decision on the tone of the rest of the piece.

Another fact about American White Pelicans:

Favored foraging sites are shallow marshes, rivers, and lake edges, where mainly fish of little commercial value are taken. White pelicans obtain their food by dipping their bills into the water and scooping up prey. They do not plunge-dive from the air like Brown Pelicans. Like some of the Old World species of pelicans, White Pelicans are widely noted for their habit of cooperative foraging. Coordinated flocks of swimming birds encircle fish or drive them into the shallows where they become concentrated and can be more easily caught with synchronized bill dipping.

--The Birds of North America, Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

.

Getting back into the swing of things…

Back in the Studio...

I have been away from my studio for several weeks now and am just now getting back into the swing of things. I have a painting started on my easel but have away from it for so long now that I’m not sure where I left off. So with that in mind I am getting back to work not standing at my easel but sitting at my drafting table working on a drawing of a White Pelican.

I captured the reference for this while I was out visiting Lovetts Gallery in Tulsa, Oklahoma last March. I was told that Bald Eagles had been spotted up at Keystone dam and that is why I had drove to the dam. I was pleasantly surprised to see five white Pelicans, instead of the Eagles, at the base of the spill way looking for some breakfast. This was my first time actually observing White Pelicans in the wild and was thrilled to have the chance to capture some reference, actually a lot of reference!

The image below is the beginning of my new drawing of one of the White Pelicans. This piece was begging to be done in graphite and not paint!

Little fact about White Pelicans:

The American White Pelican occurs mainly in western and southern portions of North America, breeding inland in colonies on remote islands and wintering along warm southern coasts. The species is of particular interest because of its large body size, conspicuous white and black coloration, graceful flight, highly developed cooperative foraging, and the somewhat comic proportions of its large bill and pouch.

-The Birds of North America, Cornell Lab of Ornithology.