28 Artists Magazine May 2019
Build DRAWING BOARD
Birds often have a favorite perch. This dickcissel (above)
sang from a prairie fencepost for days on end, making him
reliably easy to see and sketch. A Mississippi kite family
nesting in our neighborhood provided many drawing
opportunities (at left).- LEARN BASIC
ANATOMY.
It helps to know how a bird is built
and to put names to its parts. You’ll
want to understand the feather
tracts, learn the difference between
primary (flight) feathers and wing
coverts, and know what the feet are
really doing. (Bonus tip: If cooking a
whole chicken, before putting it in
the oven, note how the wings fold
and unfold, and where the knees
bend. Yes, chickens have knees. All
birds do. The knees are between the
drumsticks and the thighs, usually
hidden under feathers).Learn the basic parts of a bird and how they fi t
together to make sense of what you’re seeing.
Proportions will vary, but the anatomy is
common to all of them in one form or another.- DRAW A BIRD ON ITS
FAVORITE PERCH.
You can take advantage of a bird’s habits to
predict when and where it’ll pose for you.
Hawks, bluebirds and flycatchers scan for prey
from regular perches, while a meadowlark or
dickcissel might sing from the same fencepost
all day throughout the breeding season. In my
Oklahoma neighborhood, Mississippi kites
hang out all summer in nearby trees. I can
draw them from my own favorite perch:
a wicker chair on the front porch.