Birds of the Shore

Birds of the Shore at Palmer Hay Flats, 2019

My work Birds of the Shore at Palmer Hay Flats is about discovering birds through the act of drawing.  Being not an avid birdwatcher, I know little about birds, and therefore took to research some of the birds to draw, which are known to migrate, stopover and/or nest there. I was awestruck at the complexity of design seen in their feathered bodies, and to capture this in drawing was liken to spotting birds in and out of flight—an exercise for the eyes. My awareness of their existence and declining existence in this area increased through the generous information by Audubon Alaska WatchList.

During my artist residency in May 2019, working under Master Printmaker Maureen Booth at her Pomegranate Editions Studio, Pinos Genil Spain,  I completed an edition of bird drawings in creative solar plate printmaking for an artist book.  Early one morning I was awakened to birdsong. It was then I wrote the poem Quiet Song. I was reminded of the seasons, time, and the rhythm the natural world keeps as seen and heard in bird habitat and song. With the exception of the Red-Knot, and the Red-faced Cormorant, my work focuses on threatened or declining birds on Audubon Alaska WatchList known to inhabit this place, a sanctuary—the Palmer Hay Flats.

I have used solar plate intaglio and monotype printing processes for the work seen in these prints along with some stamping and Chine-collé techniques.

Photos used for my drawing reference were obtained at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, found in the Public Domain and Creative Commons. None of the following endorse me, or my work, in any manner:

Wikipedia, File:Americangoldie39.jpg, American Golden Plover (Pluvialis dominica) public domain
Wikipedia, File:Anser albifrons 30050.JPG, White-fronted Goose, Walter Siegmund, 2007, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
Wikipedia, File:Calidris canutus (summer).jpg, Hans Hillewaert, 2011, Red Knot in breeding plumage at Sanibrl Island in Lee County, Florida, U.S.A., Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
Wikipedia, File:Lesser Yellowlegs.jpg. A Lesser Yellowlegs, Wwcsig, 2007, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
Wikipedia, File:Red-Throated Loon Iceland.jpg, Red–throated Loon spreading its wings, Boaworm, 2010, Creative Commons 3.0
Wikipedia, File:Solitarysandpiper.jpg public domain
Wikipedia, File:Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus.jpg, Whimbrel, Andrea Trepte, 2011, www.photo-natur.de, Creative Commons-Share Alike 2.5