Although I chose a bird that I thought would be delightful to draw, this is not one of my best illustrations. It’s just stiff and flat. I stopped before became stiff and overworked, which can sometimes be a danger due to my perfectionist tendencies. Sometimes, you need to know when to walk away. Sorry, Mr. ibis.
I guess I also love Snowy Owls. I drew one in February, and a chick in April. As an artist, owl faces are kind of confusing to me. They are oddly flat and yet so expressive. I think my searching to understand them is what makes these drawings some of the strongest in the series, regardless of medium.
This little bird is flapping to say “hi” to you. He’s a cutie.
Fun fact: Razorbill Pengins only come ashore to breed, and they mate for life. Wet, dedicated little families.
Lovely little punk hair and colors on this one.
I call my daughter “Magpie” now. During the year I drew the birds, I never thought of this. But it seemed such a natural nickname once she was born.
I love these pens. I think the longer the year wore on, the more I loved them.
Lovely little bird.
Another baby bird. I like the fuzziness of the head, but I think the eyes aren’t great. They look a bit glazed and lifeless.
I hate this bird. This may officially be the ugliest, most rushed bird I drew the whole year.
We had gone out for dinner and a concert with friends, and we got home at 2am. I was hot, sweaty, and tired from dancing like a maniac. (Side note: one of the nice things about getting older is that I don’t give a rat’s ass anymore about what I look like on the dance floor. I’m not trying to impress anyone and I’ll likely never see most of these other people again, so I don’t care. I have been told that this inhibition makes me a better dancer than I have ever been. Oh, how I wish I could have learned this lesson sooner and enjoyed larger chunks of my youth.) But I wasn’t going to miss another day of my drawing project, dammit! So I drew this hurried atrocity before crawling under the covers. Ugh. He is horrible. I am sorry, little flamingo. You cannot compare to your brothers, not even the other rushed flamingo I drew in January.
claire meyler 