Slow Birding…with Watercolors…

When I was a kid, my parents and I would drive down from Wisconsin to Florida at least once a year for vacation. We would pass through the farmlands of the Midwest into the rolling greenery of the Appalachian Mountains, and drive into the flatter red clay countryside of Georgia until we reach the Florida border. Along the way, I sat in the back, drawing the world as it flew by my window.

I laid out a palette of colored pencils and markers on the seats and prepared my notebook to capture the mountains, trees, anything that I found interesting. Granted, I didn’t draw all the time (I also brought along my Sega or Gameboy), but those early trips allowed me to look out the window.

Over the years, for whatever reason, I didn’t draw as often as I did. Maybe it was a lack of confidence in my work. I enjoyed it, but I was always holding myself to strict criteria. It’s only with returning to birding have I resumed my artistic endeavors. To be honest, it’s more like stepping into the shallow end of the artistic world than a swan dive.

Now, these drawings of a Ring-billed Gull and a White-tailed Kite will not compete with either Peterson or Sibley, but I’m proud of them because they are my drawings. They are how I see the birds. I am finding out that merely seeing birds through binos or snapping a few (hundred) photos of these birds falls short of appreciating them. Drawing and painting them has afforded me time to examine their features, scrutinize their feathers and plumage, and commit them to memory.

Hence, slow birding by watercolor!

Relaxing, this activity forces me to slow down and consider the bird in its entirety. I have found another sense of zen in drawing, not unlike a quiet walk in the woods.

I promise I will keep at this activity, since I want to show everyone a better picture.

Copyright for the media within this post belongs solely to me, Ira, with the IG account @mke_birder with this website at www.thebirdsbroughtmehere.com.

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Happy birding!

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