Sunday, February 05, 2012

Catching Up 2: Long Tailed Tits

I have been wanting to include long tailed tits in an engraving for a long time. I see them in small groups when I take my daily walks and they are also frequent visitors to the bird feeders in the garden; here are a couple sharing their meal with a starling:




However, I wanted to show them as I see them in the hawthorn hedges, with Ely cathedral glimpsed in the background. I spent some time making sketchbook drawings and then trying to find a combination that worked as the image I had in my mind:




Having established the composition, I transferred my drawing into reverse onto a darkened boxwood block and started to engrave:





Here is the final engraving:


The image measures 70 x 65mm and has been printed onto Zerkall paper in an edition of 100.

 For a limited period, I am selling these at a reduced price in my Etsy store. Here is the link:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/92278861/long-tailed-tits







2 comments:

Crafty Green Poet said...

wow, what a beautiful engraving! One of my favourite birds too!

Daydream Believer said...

I love my print of these delicious birds. A prize from you, thank you!