Any excuse :)

[Andestine]

Hello again

Spring and summer hibernation over and I’ve missed you all so much

As many of you already know, I have a very special bat to draw, but as I want to enjoy taking my time over doing a detailed rendering of it this, I’ve been searching through old sketchbooks to find excuses to post, so apologies to those who will already have seen some of these off list

All are drawn freehand, some from life and some from photos (mostly mine). They’re all a bit dodgy in parts, but not too bad in others, which is why I never threw them in the bin There’s also a couple of experimental ones.

I’ve been really enjoying myself this morning catching up on all the lovely artwork posted since I was last here, but I know for a fact that there are many more artists hiding away on WAB (and *you* know that *I* know who many of you are ) so I really hope that you’ll post before the year is out as I’m consumed with curiosity to see nature as you see it

I’m also a great fan of all the inspiring digital art seen here and will be joining in the fun in the new year when I’m treating myself to CS5

Cheers,

Andestine

[The Woodman]

Hello Andestine
Good to see you posting on WAB again and your efforts.
I enjoy seeing others art and hope this might encourage a few more posts.

Do you use textured paper? The reason I ask is the background to the worn limpet looks like it to me.

[artdemole]

Very good art work.Love those tones The WW1 especially.

[theresa dockery]

I really enjoy looking at other people's artwork...it always inspires me!

If I had to pick a favourite (hard!) I'd say I like your inkings best (my favourite medium) - the barbed-wire fence-posts are particularly atmospheric.
Is there some bleaching in that painting? (for the orange sky)

The ants are simply delightful - very delicately rendered & they look so animated.

When I have time over the winter (once exams/coursework are done & dusted) I'll be getting out my inks & watercolours

Thanks for sharing

[david156]

Hi,

Great pictures.

Have received your email and have PM you with my new email address

Cheers David.

[sunnydale]

Very nice indeed Andestine My particular favourite is the 'oil tree'. The pattern is exquisitely gentle.

Tracey

[ChrissyMarie]

Andestine is is lovely to see you back
Thank you so much for the email and for dragging me back in here. Do you know I cannot think of the last time I posted or indeed what it was....
I am trying to think if I have completed any wildlife art this year but I must have done because it has been ages!
Your pencil/graphite work is superb. I have some lovely graphite pencils which can be mixed with water that I haven't even playing with properly yet, I think I rendered a tiger and that was it!
As someone else has said, the ants are amazingly animated....so as you have already told me you have been working on some bugs and things too, I am really looking forward to seeing more.
On a personal level, I really do love that pile of stones too. I always really struggle with rocks and the texture of these is good and I like the composition
The bat sounds like a real challenge! I was often inspired by the threads in here, I do hope some more artists contribute too. Last year I can think of many a piece that was generated because somebody had put a great subject up.

As I said, good to see you back

[Andestine]

Originally Posted by The Woodman

Hello Andestine
Good to see you posting on WAB again and your efforts.
I enjoy seeing others art and hope this might encourage a few more posts.

Do you use textured paper? The reason I ask is the background to the worn limpet looks like it to me.

Hello Woodman

Thanks for the welcome back, and I’m with you all the way on wanting to see more posts here.

I’ve looked for other Wildlife Art forums and there are many global ones, but WAB is the only site that I’ve found which concentrates on the wildlife of the British Isles. (But if you or anyone else knows of something I’ve missed, a link would be very much appreciated as I love looking at wildlife art in general)

The Bird Forum has a fabulous Wildlife Art section, but it’s worldwide and, not surprisingly, focuses mostly on birds

I know how keen your eyes are for detail, so am not surprised that you spotted the textured paper used for the worm limpet. I was experimenting with using different grades of soft graphite pencils on quite rough watercolour paper as that can produce very interesting textures. I love limpet shells; there are so many variations in pattern and subtle colours.

And as for encouraging more posts, you’re not exactly a slouch in the art department yourself, as any glance at the Wildlife Art archives or Images section will demonstrate, and I can’t believe that you have nothing to post after taking a break for such a long time

Cheers,

Andestine

[Andestine]

Originally Posted by artdemole

Very good art work.Love those tones The WW1 especially.

Good morning Artdemole, and thank you

WW1 is a favourite of mine too, but was so long ago that I don’t exactly remember how I did it. I captioned it as having been a gouache ‘wash-out’ experiment, but now I come to look at it more closely I think it was me just playing around with some waterproof black ink with no end result in mind. I was tipping the paper to let the ink run at random, and when the pattern looked interesting, I stopped and started to dry it with a hair dryer. When partly dry I ran the whole thing under a tap until the wet ink had washed off.

When completely dry, the remaining pattern reminded me of the trenches, so I just added some barbed wire. I think the background colour was part of an old watercolour that I ran the ink over, so all was accidental apart from adding the barbed wire.
You should try it. It’s enormous fun

May I ask if your username signifies an interest or participation in art? Well, you know why I'm asking, of course, and there's absolutely no obligation to post art here, so if you simply happen to be of Norman descent (as I am myself) and your name is Arthur, you're off the hook

Cheers,

Andestine

P.S;

I’m fond of a bit of an amble myself too

[Andestine]

Originally Posted by theresa dockery

I really enjoy looking at other people's artwork...it always inspires me!

That’s what I love to hear I look at other people’s art for the very same reason.

If I had to pick a favourite (hard!) I'd say I like your inkings best (my favourite medium) - the barbed-wire fence-posts are particularly atmospheric.
Is there some bleaching in that painting? (for the orange sky)

I’ve given the technique as I remember it in the reply to Artdemole, but I know what you mean about the bleaching. I’ve been meaning to try experimenting with that technique but haven’t got round to it yet. Have you tried it yourself?

I love using inks in general. I used to do a lot of very finely detailed pen and ink drawings, but my eyes just can’t cope with that any more

The ants are simply delightful - very delicately rendered & they look so animated.

Thank you
A watercolour artist friend of mine told me many years ago to only draw or paint what I love, and he was so right. I love invertebrates (land and sea) in general, but ants are one of my favourites. Their gestures are exquisite and lovely to draw.

When I have time over the winter (once exams/coursework are done & dusted) I'll be getting out my inks & watercolours

Excellent news! So we’ll be expecting something from you around Christmas time?
I said goodbye to exams some years ago and now I study just for fun, but I do love to learn What are you studying?

Thanks for sharing

You’re more than welcome. I was on art forums for many years without posting any art. WAB made me feel so much at home when I joined last year that I posted here for the first time ever. (The other places were full of lovely people, but were huge and a bit scary )

Cheers,

Andestine