chestnut breasted finch
chestnut breasted finches
(aka chestnut breasted mannikin)
by Tina Burke
Graphite and acrylic on Arches 300gsm watercolour paper
red winged parrot
Study of a red-winged parrot
by Tina Burke
Graphite on Stonehenge 250gsm paper
This original drawing is available for purchase here.
boobook owl
Study of a boobook owl
by Tina Burke
Graphite on Strathmore cold press watercolour paper
This original drawing is available for purchase here.
eastern yellow robin
Study of an eastern yellow robin
by Tina Burke
Graphite on Canson mixed media paper
This original drawing is available for purchase here.
bee-eater
Study of a bee-eater
by Tina Burke
Graphite on Arches watercolour paper
This original drawing is available for purchase here.
blending styles
I've been busily working on the rough illustration phase for a children's book. It's the third in a series I have been illustrating for Meredith Costain, and technically I guess that means it's more relevant to my other website. But it also explains why there's not an awful lot of bird painting going on lately.
Only here's the funny coincidence, the woman in this particular story paints birds! Like me! She lives in a little cottage in the woods - that could one day be me! And all the local kids are terrified of her and call her a witch. Still. She's living the dream.
rough sketch for "Rosie and Ned and the Creepy Cave"
written by Meredith Costain, illustrated by Tina Burke
Published by Penguin Books 2010
As I look at blogs of creative people online, many have various outlets for their creativity — like art and writing, or knitting and collage work, photography and sewing .... I wonder whether they chop and change over the course of the day, or week, or find they work better if they focus on one craft at a time?
I find I go through phases. I won't, for example, work on a book in the morning then a bird painting in the afternoon. With me it's all one or the other. I set aside time — a week or a few weeks, for my birds, but when working on a book it can often be many weeks at a time, because a) publishing is a time-intensive field and each book will have multiple illustrations, and b) when I'm in my "kid's book" headspace, or working on a new story idea that excites me, that's simply all I can think about. Same goes for my "bird art" headspace. Don't even try and distract me.
There's a lot to be said for focusing on one craft/technique/outlet — it's how artists finesse their style and become masters rather than dabblers, but it seems there are also a lot of artists whose creativity just can't help but overflow into other areas or styles, and I do believe that often the various skills and styles can feed into each other and blend together to create our own unique vision (well, depending on the craft. I like to bake, too, but it doesn't help my drawing other than to give me snacks while I work). But even if the various endeavours don't quite blend together, diversity keeps life interesting, too, and that's a good thing. Plus I like snacks.
My inspiration for doing my series of birds in graphite actually came after illustrating this series of children's books that I'm currently working on. They are "chapter books" (short novels for early readers with lots of b&w illustrations). A lot of illustrators use ink/wash for these type of books, but I went with graphite. I love doing them — it's going back to pure drawing in it's most basic form. So I decided to do b&w illustrations for our two-storey, very blank wall in our loft apartment. Only instead of my cartoony style, I went back to my "grown-up" style.
Random Australian images (for our apartment in Canada)
by Tina Burke
left to right, top to bottom:
● countryside
● Palm Cockatoo
● Red-whiskered Bulbul (not an Australian native, but we had them in our garden and their cheerful chirrups made me happy)
● a rose from mum's garden
● Shelly Beach, Port Macquarie
● gum tree
● wind-swept tree at Nobby's Beach, Port Macquarie
● black swan (we used to feed them in Centennial Park, Sydney)
I find graphite so versatile — I love being able to capture the tiniest details and interesting textures, then blur off into a dreamy, evocative smudge. I liked how they seemed to look "old", like antique prints. And I love antique prints. So suddenly this idea became the basis for my bird art, which up until then I'd been painting with acrylics. So I packed away my paints and got drawing again. I know, it's not exactly re-inventing the wheel — graphite is usually where one starts when learning to draw and paint, but for me it was fresh and exciting again, and most importantly, fun.
Having said that, I still love colour, so my acrylics shall continue to make an appearance ...
once I get this book finished ...
olive-backed sunbird
olive-backed sunbird
by Tina Burke
acrylic on Arches watercolour paper, 14x10"
... also known as a Yellow-Bellied Sunbird, found in areas from Southern Asia to Australia. I remember the first time I saw a sunbird in Australia I was surprised how little it was - so tiny and fragile looking, like a hummingbird.
This is a male - they have a vivid blue-black metallic sheen on their throat and forehead. As is often the case, they are fancier than the female. She has a yellow belly and throat, with the brownish-olive coloured head and back, but no shiny bling.
ruby-throated hummingbird
ruby-throated hummingbird
by Tina Burke
acrylic on Arches watercolour paper, 14x10"
I've been experimenting on "hand-aged" watercolour paper as an extension on my series of drawings - which in turn were inspired by antique and vintage prints. I've been a bit obsessed with hummingbirds lately, and inspired by an orchid plant I specifically bought for this painting. I'm just pleased I was able to keep it alive long enough to paint - the last one we had died in record time (turns out they don't need much water).
work in progress
I've been having the most wonderful week, involving a lot of glorious mess. As much as I love drawing, it is SO MUCH FUN to pull out my paints and work in colour again.
I'm working in acrylics on watercolour paper (Arches Hot Press block). It's hard to find tropical flowers in these parts, especially in the Fall, so I went to Allan Gardens to find some inspiration. The bird is an olive-backed sunbird, one of the birds I saw at the ROM last week.
My aim is to have it finished in order to submit it to the Society of Animal Artists - application for membership is due by October 23rd, for anyone who may be interested.
I'm just tweaking this piece and all going well, will post the finished painting soon ...
sketches
Yesterday I went to the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) to sketch some of their stuffed birds.
As much as I love seeing a bird in the wild ... ie; alive ... this is a great way to get up close and personal to see how they're put together - how the feathers grow, how the wings fold up so neatly, like an umbrella, and the actual size of the different species - something that can be difficult to gauge when looking through binoculars or using photo reference. Even if I'm not drawing a bird "life-size" I like having an awareness of how they fit into their world - like the hummingbirds whose bodies are literally the size of my thumb! So teensy!
I loved the woodpecker (above↑) - a Magellanic Woodpecker, of southern South America. I'm thinking he'll end up in a painting. He has this lovely strong profile with his shaggy crest and strong beak (plus he has a flame red head, on a jet black body with just a smattering of white on the wings - so dynamic). These kinds of interesting design elements really appeal to me when I'm choosing subject matter.
The feathers of museum specimens aren't always as glossy and preened as on a healthy, live bird - nor the colours as bright and accurate - but it's so helpful to study them. I find the more I know and understand about the subject, the easier it is to draw it - it's not that I want to draw every minute detail, but having a better understanding actually frees me up to make choices of what to include, or to be able to draw it at whatever angle I want.
And I love making little discoveries - like the delicate and unusual tail feathers on the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (the last sketch, just above ↑) - I've seen them in the wild many times, just never close enough to notice that. Apparently the central shaft very stiff, allowing them to use it for extra support as they hammer away at the tree (they're a type of woodpecker). We don't have woodpeckers in Australia, so it's such a novelty being in North America now and getting to see all these different birds and animals.
Such a nice way to spend an afternoon ... next time I'm taking a camera and a folding chair. And my iPod - those school groups are loud.
Welcome
Hello.
So after long intention, and much lurking, I finally have my little blog to display my art and join in on the conversation. I’m very excited!
I started an online course this week: In the Fishbowl: Life as an Artist Online after admiring Creative Thursday’s Marisa Haedike’s work, blog and generous spirit. I signed up 6 weeks ago, waited impatiently, and used the course as an impetus to finally get this website built and online.
Her first gentle and inspiring podcast got us thinking about what we do. The first question was “Why do you love what you create?” And with that, I finally found the focus for my first blog topic.
why do I love what I create?
I love trying to capture the magic I experience from nature - the intake of breath and flash of joy I get from an unexpected glimpse of a bright bird as it flashes past, or stumbling across a flower species that I’ve never seen before. I linger over the details in nature, but also love the simple peace and inspiration I feel from the natural world, and try to incorporate both in my artwork. I love the mixture of a misty and evocative atmosphere that can be represented by a dreamy smudge, leaving your imagination to fill in the gaps, combined with the tiny, intricate and beautiful details you only notice when looking closely at a bird or flower. I'm fascinated by the array of colours and ornate and fantastical designs that nature presents.
That never-ending journey as I try to capture all this - from an infinite supply of inspiration - brings me such pleasure and satisfaction.
And that’s why I love what I create.
It's an excellent question ... it reminded me why I do what I do, and how lucky I am to have something in my life that's so simple, yet brings me so much joy. A perfect headspace to be in as I launch my new site and gallery!
