coloured pencil

George – Harris Hawk

George Harris Hawk

My latest commission now safely delivered – this is another “George” the harris hawk in his juvenile plumage. Many birds of prey will have different plumage in their first years, and they also have slightly longer flight feathers to help them when learning to fly.

This one was done on a slightly off-white/creamy paper to compliment the tones in the feathers.

George
12 x 16 coloured pencil on Derwent Lightfast HP.

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George – Great Grey

George Great Grey

My latest commission now on its way to his owner – this is George and he is a Great Grey Owl. Although it’s one of the largest species of owl by length, much of its size is deceptive, as a dense layer of fluffy feathers keeps them warm in the cold northern climate where they live.

Although the colours were relatively straightforward, the patterns were incredibly complicated and almost drove me mad!! I chose drafting film for this one to enable me to get the effect that I wanted, but it was still the hardest owl I’ve completed to date!

16 x 12
Coloured Pencil on Drafting film

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Blue Tit

Blue Tit

To say this was a little bit out of my comfort zone is an understatement! Although it does feature a bird, I rarely draw flowers so this was quite a challenge for me. And those who know me well know that I also absolutely hate pink! I had to go and buy a load of pink pencils because I only had a couple-it was torture to pick them!!

I also used multiple references to create this piece as I didn’t want to copy a photograph directly but make something different. It’s why I try to use my own reference photos when I can so they are a bit more unique, but in this instance, I didn’t have a blue tit photo of my own.

9 x 12 Coloured pencil on HP paper

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Great Horned Owl

I first started this drawing a year ago! I put it away several times as I had other projects & commissions to complete, then forgot about it for a while until now. For the owl fans, hope you like it (he needs a name).
Original for sale. Prints available shortly.

Great Horned Owl
16 x 12 Coloured pencil on drafting film
Caroline Ebinger

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Grouse

Back onto my favourite subject-falcons!
One of my preferred methods of working is to roughly block out all the elements first before gradually working the tones over the whole piece. It’s a common method used for painting which is something I used to do. But with pencil or graphite this can be problematic, as your hand rests on the drawing and can cause some rub off, even when using glassine to protect it. This piece, however, is small enough to avoid smudging and the coloured pencils are quite robust so I was able to build up the tones.

“Grouse”
9×12 Strathmore toned grey

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Mulberry

Another piece completed before Xmas – this commission was actually a leaving gift for a member of bird staff at Muncaster Castle and depicts their barn owl Mulberry.

I am quite fond of barn owls, but drawing their complicated plumage usually results in a sore wrist and lots of swearing!

12 x 16 coloured pencil on Clairefontaine PaintOn gris (grey)

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Miley

This is Miley the frenchie who was quite interesting to draw. Although you may think that single-tone coats are straightforward, they are anything but! There are so many colours you wouldn’t initially expect, such as pinky-purples, orange, blues, and silvery hues that your eyes don’t really see at first glance, but they give a drawing more realism.
 
9 x 12 Clairefontaine PaintOn

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Bonnie

Bonnie

A commission recently gifted – this is the lovely Bonnie who has sadly passed over the rainbow bridge but was very special to their owner.

A first time using the new Clarefontaine PaintOn range of coloured papers, this one is the grey, similar to the Strathmore I’ve been using, but handles much better and was very enjoyable to draw on.

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Nimbus II

Nimbus II

The second of my Nimbus series – tried a slightly different technique this time getting all the whites & light tones in first to speed up the process and to avoid it going ‘muddy.’

Working over the whole piece instead of just sections it came together much better and I prefer this method of working – unfortunately when creating bigger pieces it is not always feasible to do this as you end up bracing your hand on areas you’ve worked, but for this size I was able to get away with it.

9 x 9 on Strathmore Toned Grey

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Saxon Wolfdog

Saxon

My second go using drafting film – Saxon the wolf-dog who lived at Gentleshaw Wildlife Centre.

Picked up as a stray and in poor condition, in Northern Ireland, Saxon’s days were numbered. He was housed at a pound whilst they tried to find a licensed home to take him on. No zoos would take him because he was a hybrid, and having too high a percentage of wolf, he could not be placed in a domestic setting (as per UK law). Thankfully Gentleshaw had a suitable enclosure and gave him a home, quickly becoming a firm favourite with visitors and staff. An impressive but gentle giant, he lived at the centre for 10 years until old age caught up with him last month and he slipped over the rainbow bridge peacefully, on his own terms.

He liked to sit with his paws crossed, I wanted to include that in my portrait which meant doing a full body – something I don’t do that often. It would also mean creating a bit of background to sit on which I know isn’t easy on this surface. As well as the ‘fake’ blur/depth of field that some modern phones create (which I don’t like) I was really challenging myself and pushing just how much I could achieve on this surface. Did I swear and stomp and tear my hair out? You bet I did! Are there things I would change? Of course! Did I learn a lot – absolutely!

12 x 16 Coloured pencil on drafting film

 

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