Kingfisher

I received a Christmas card which featured a kingfisher, instead of the usual Christmas bird, robin. I thought that's unusual but since I love kingfisher (well, I love robin, too, after all, robin is now officially the British national bird), I made a quick sketch on the back of a direct mail envelope. Now I am kind of regretting not painting it in a proper sketchbook - but then I would have been too nervous not to make mistakes...

Monarch Butterfly

Danaus plexippus

"The monarch butterfly ... May be the most familiar North American butterfly, and is considered an iconic pollinator species. ... The Eastern North American monarch population is notable for its annual southward late-summer/autumn migration from the United States and southern Canada to Mexico. During the fall migration, monarchs cover thousand of miles, with a corresponding multi-generational return north." - Wikipedia

Just as we love the red admiral butterfly in Britain, monarch butterfly seems to be its counterpart in America. Since we don't have this species here (I am lucky if I could spot a red admiral even!), this was painted from a photograph.

I have seen monarchs' annual migration on wildlife programme on TV, but it would be really miraculous if I could see it in real life.

Robin in Flight

Free sketching of a robin in flight. I like drawing in this notebook which is pictured below in my kitchen/studio general set up. I don't usually like painting on thin paper, but somehow this notebook seems to be an exception. The size of this notebook is larger than I am used to (15cm x 21 cm closed) and that may be the reason why it works.

This shows the general set up of my kitchen studio. I've taken the photograph after I finished the painting, for size reference of my notebook. On the right is the graphite pencil I am using quite a lot recently for sketching. The lead is quite hard so I could draw faint lines or heavy lines with it. I think I bought it when I went to see Degas exhibition at the Royal Academy of Art. The pencil being a souvenir item, it doesn't specifically say the hardness of the lead, but it feels like HB. I wouldn't have thought I would be using this pencil this much when I bought it. You never know which drawing tool will become your favourite!