Bird sketches using charcoal and soft pastels.

I went for a walk in Stephen’s Green park, Dublin, one sunny evening after work last week and managed to get a few snaps of birds in action over the pond. I tried out sketching a few of the birds from the photos with charcoal and soft pastels.

I was trying to capture the light reflecting off the birds and the translucence of their wings. In the photos the water is quite dark and and the birds are heavily shaded because of the strong sunlight but I think when I try sketching from these photos again I’ll use some artistic license and add more contrast!

I tried drawing birds last year too and really enjoyed it so I  have have possibly found one subject that I would like to focus on. Luckily enough, my sister’s boyfriend keeps and looks after all sorts of birds so I shouldn’t be short of material for sketching!