Birds & Morning Silence

One of my new personal projects/challenges is to do more  drawing. I am doing this in a couple of ways. Here’s one way . . .

I’ve always wanted to spend some time drawing birds. There is something benevolent and calming about birds. Their song and chirpiness connects us (me) to nature effortelessly. I always notice new birdsongs when I travel. Certain sounds have the power to take me back to a particular place and time.

I started drawing birds right into my art journal. My art journal is part writing and part art making. It’s the first thing I come to in the morning, right after making coffee. It felt very natural to draw/focus on birds first thing in the morning. This part of the morning is shrouded with silence.

This quote by Irish writer Robert Lynd seems very fitting:

In order to see birds it is necessary to become a part of the silence.

The birds become a happy part of the silence of my morning ritual.  Here are the birds I’ve started to draw. I’ve been referencing an animal encyclopedia, which has the added benefit of learning about the species, their habitat, distribution, etc. I rather like this other learning component to this drawing exercise.

mediums used: collage, watercolour, fineliner, charcoal

The birds I’ve drawn so far are: the bullfinch, the ovenbird, the eclectus parrot (not shown), the blue titmouse, the atlantic puffin. Some I’ve played with several times after the initial drawing. At first I paint/colour a realistic colour but then I’ve also started creating my own colour combinations and altered features. This is a fun part of playing.

Do you have a morning ritual that starts your day on a positive note?

Art Journal Resource:

You may want to check into Lisa Sonora Beam’s blog and read about her Root: A 30 Day Journal Project. It starts January 1st and it’s free. If you need support art journaling this will probably be a great place to be.