2019-05-01 The Artists Magazine

26 Artists Magazine May 2019

Build DRAWING BOARD

How to Draw Birds

As an artist, you already have the power of observation.

Make the most of that power with these eight exercises.

by Debby Cotter Kaspari

Drawing birds from life is as much a sport as it is an art.

Birds rarely hold still, so catching them on paper requires

a combination of observation, good reflexes and a fast

pencil. You can work from photos, but one of the rewards of

drawing birds from life is that you’ll get to know them well.

Although they go unnoticed much of the time, we live

our lives surrounded by birds. There might be pigeons on

telephone wires, house sparrows in the hedges or geese on

the golf links. Birds are possibly the most visible of the

world’s wildlife. They’re easy to see and study and, with

practice, not too difficult to draw.

The palm tree (right) didn’t move an inch, but the

Amazon buff -rumped warbler (opposite, left) made me

work fast to capture its wagging tail. The European

goldfi nches (opposite, right) picked thistle seeds just

long enough to allow me to snag a few gestures, and

I added color washes after they fl ew away.

1. LOOSEN UP WITH
   GESTURE DRAWINGS.

Birds rarely sit still, so you’ll need to “grow”

a fast hand to catch up with them. Warm up

with fast spirals, wiggles and any doodling

nonsense that syncs your hand with your

eye. Set a timer and fast-sketch simple

objects. Before tackling birds, draw a tree,

a stone or your shoe. Leave out the details

and go for the gesture.

A sketchbook, binoculars and pencil are my primary

pieces of equipment. I use a mechanical pencil—no

sharpening required, which would just slow me down.

Binoculars are great if you have them, but if you don’t,

start with birds that can be approached closely.

Try not to make tight drawings. Instead, give yourself

the initial goal of making organized scribbles—scribbles

with beaks and feathers. With time and practice, your

drawings naturally will become more polished, but for now,

think of this as a new way to pursue a love of birds. Here

are eight ways that will help breed success.