Garden birds in watercolour

House sparrow studies

Loose warm-up sketches on wallpaper lining paper. The first image (right) demonstrates working direct with the brush then drawing over it with more suggestive detail whilst it’s still wet. The second (above) shows using pencil first then adding a watercolour wash to add form and basic colour

I can happily spend hours watching the comings and goings of the small birds that visit my garden, trying to draw and capture their behaviour and interactions in paint. They never fail to engage and delight me. Spring is a wonderful time as the nesting season has begun and tree cover is still light,