Wildlifeart-Fieldsketches

Reptiles

2012-01-26T12:18:00.002+01:00

My latest studies of Reptiles in Munich zoo...

Mississipi Alligator

Mississipi Alligator

Rhinoceros Iguana

DRAWING INSPIRATION FROM THE HULA VALLEY"Book

2011-12-20T08:42:00.007+01:00

Two years ago , in March of 2009, I was very privileged to be invited
to join an international group of nature artists in a ANF (Artists for Nature Foundation)
and SPNI(Society for the protection of Nature in Israel) Project
which took place at the magnificent Hula Valley in northern Israel.
The Hula Valley, an agricultural region in northern Israel with abundant fresh water
and many swamps has been almost completely drained during the 50's of 20th century.
Today, 60 years later, the importance of the lost ecosystems has been recognized and
recently a small section of the former lake and swamp region was reflooded in order to
recreate partly the former environment.
Meanwhile , the whole area has been transformerd to one of the most important stop overs
of migrating birds in the Middle East, and the main overwintering ground for thousands of Cranes,as well of Pelicans,and Eagles ...
The whole scenery was magnificent, the people there extraorinary friendly and helpful,
and the artists..I had the great luck to work in the field with artists like Barry van Dusen, Bruce Pearson, Wolfgang Weber, Harriet Mead, Denis Clavreul to name but a few...ten days long!
I'm so grateful particularly to Ysbrand and Zev for inviting me there, Juan for being suggested and Amir for his companionship and friendship!
Just click on the title above in case you want to read more and look after the gorgeous book
at:
http://www.artistsfornature.com/News_and_events/35
http://www.teva.org.il/english/?CategoryID=194&ArticleID=176

Book cover

Agmon lake with Mountain Hermon in the background

Cranes

Imperial & Great spotted eagle

White breasted Kingfisher

Saker Falcon portrait

2011-12-09T18:06:00.005+01:00

A Sakerfalcon portrait sketched using a scope today morning in Munich zoo..The main medium was the Bic black biro pen while a Brush Black pen from Faber-Castell has been also used
for the darker parts..

Siberian eagle owl study in B & W

2011-11-30T17:05:00.002+01:00

Once again an eagle owl study sketched today morning in Munich zoo..
The light was very low due to overcast weather...

Siberian eagle owl

Indian rhino & Blacktip Shark-Munich zoo

2011-11-23T20:23:00.003+01:00

The cold and misty weather doesn't allow any attempt
to use watercolours in the field. In this case I use to visit the dark aquarium or even
other houses where because of the low light, my beloved Bic black biro pen is the only medium
I trust ...

Indian Rhino study

Blacktip Shark

European fishes

2011-11-11T23:38:00.004+01:00

It's true that I haven't been particularly interested in fishes in the past,
but this has been meanwhile changed, and since I've been
commisioned to illustrate several species lately, I thought
that I had to give me the chance to study them closer...
The Aquarium in Munich zoo hosts many species from allover the world
but this time the european species caught my attenion...

European chub

Sturgeon head study

Sturgeon overall view

Barn owl and Nyala antelope studies

2011-10-06T19:27:00.005+02:00

Today morning in Munich zoo....

Barn owl

Nyala antelope, female

Mhorr Gazelle portrait

2011-09-28T08:47:00.004+02:00

The Mhorr gazelle , critically endangered species,became extinct in the wild
during the sixties, caught my attention during a visit in our zoo...
After a couple of failed attempts, I managed to get this one ...

Abruzzo chamois study

2011-09-16T16:45:00.002+02:00

A chamois study made today morning in the Munich zoo..
Because of the distanse I used my scope to see the details.

Abruzzo chamois

Berlin Tierpark-Raptor studies

2011-08-23T15:01:00.005+02:00

I've spend last weekend in Berlin and had the chance to visit after many years the East Berlin zoo
with it's rich mammal and bird collection.
The Raptors are always worth a visit and I couldn't resist to make a couple of studies...

Eastern imperial eagle

Harpy eagle female

Mammal sketches in black & white

2011-07-12T18:04:00.004+02:00

After a long period time of sketching and illustrating
almost solely birds or trees, I went back to my beloved
mammals with their exceptional facial expressions
and I didn't regret it...
Today morning at Munich zoo.....

Abruzzo Chamois

Mountain lion or Puma or Cougar

Siberian eagle owl study

2011-07-05T21:37:00.002+02:00

A siberian eagle owl study done on location in Munich zoo
today morning...

Siberian eagle owl, Bubo bubo sibiricus

New field studies

2011-07-04T19:36:00.004+02:00

It is true that I've been very quiet lately...
It was because of the tight deadlines I had to catch up with,
while doing illustrations..
The German Bird atlas has been finished now, and during a visit
to my Parents in low in Saxony , I used the limited time I had to
recover and to do some field work..
(All the attached studies have been done on location in Saxony with the esception
of the Cormorant's head done in Munich zoo last week)

Great Cormorant head study

White Stork head study

Common Rudd

Red Kite

European ground squirrel

New european tree guide

2011-06-27T16:51:00.005+02:00

A new european tree guide has been published by the german publisher KOSMOS
a week ago..
My contribution was to illustrate 351 tree species occuring in Europe, and took
me almost two years to complete the series...
Just click on the above title to see more ...

Larix kaempferi

Juniperus turbinata ssp. canariensis

Callistemon viminalis

Abies alba

Tsuga heterophylla

Peregrine falcon study

2011-04-07T16:21:00.003+02:00

A quick study of a juv.Peregrine today morning in Munich zoo...

Long legged buzzard juv.-Munich zoo

2010-10-14T18:36:00.003+02:00

Made on location at Munich zoo, last Tuesday,
Watercolours.

Golden eagle portrait

2010-10-08T23:28:00.003+02:00

Since I heard of cold and foggy weather for the rest of the week
I didn't let the chance to visit the zoo one more time and I didn't regret it.
I've been rewarded with the portrait of the very cooperative Golden eagle
called "Aragon"

New sketches from Munich zoo

2010-10-04T23:35:00.003+02:00

Golden eagle

Long legged buzzard juv.

European bison

Latest news-German Bird atlas

2010-09-27T21:17:00.001+02:00

I know that there has been a period of time without any post..
For those who may wonder what happened I'd love to invite anyone to visit the following
website and see what am I doing currently:

http://www.stiftung-vogelmonitoring.de/index.php?cat=yourhelp&subcat=spons_adebar&subsubcat=gesamt

I`ve been commisioned to illustrate the German breeding bird Atlas, a huge project of ca 300 drawings,
which requires a big amount of discipline and dedication...

New book about Dadia reserve in Greece

2010-05-19T10:33:00.006+02:00

Just received a book published by WWF Greece, which includes a
selection of scientific papers regarding the famous Dadia raptor reserve
in North-eastern Greece.
It is actually a systematic presentation of all studies carried out on this area
over the last 20 years.
I was privileged to be commisioned to illustrate this book.
All of the drawings have been done using a simple BIC ballpoint pen.
Attached, few of the illustrations.....

Griffon vulture

2010-05-19T10:01:00.003+02:00

Black vulture

Golden eagle

Marsh Frog

Black Stork

Woodchat shrike

2010-05-19T09:54:00.003+02:00

Forest

Wolf

Marbled Polecat

Landscape

Creek

More drawings from the past -to be continued

2010-05-02T22:59:00.006+02:00

European bison study-young male

Indian rhinoceros

Chamois

European bison -female

Przewalski horse-(the shorttailed female from
Munich zoo-her name Sitka)

2010-05-02T22:50:00.002+02:00

Indian rhinoceros

capybara

Great white pelican

Rhinoceros iguana

Rock partridge

2010-05-02T22:42:00.003+02:00

Mountain goat

Elk

Diamond dove

Demoiselle Crane

Great grey owl

More raptors from the past

2010-02-27T12:02:00.010+01:00

Golden eagle

Eastern Imperial eagle

Golden eagle

Bearded vulture

Red tailed hawk

Raptors-b&w

2010-02-27T11:39:00.002+01:00

Peregrine, Red Kite

Snow owl Juvenile

Peregrine

Griffon vulture

Eagle owl

2010-01-16T14:02:00.003+01:00

Brown bear

Markhor wild goat

Markhor wild goat

Capercaillie male

Capercaillie female

2010-01-16T13:54:00.003+01:00

Lynx

Alpine ibex

Chamois

Black vulture

Siberian eagle owl

Hellenic Wildlife hospital- coloured sketches Part 2

2009-12-17T11:13:00.004+01:00

Bonelli's eagle

Bonelli`s eagle juvenile

Chuckar partridge

Golden Jackal

Porpoise

Hellenic Wildlife hospital- coloured sketches Part 1

2009-12-16T09:59:00.005+01:00

Osprey

Levant sparrowhawk

Henn harrier 1w

Short-toed eagle & Eleonora's falcon imm.(below)

Hellenic Wildlife hospital- B&W sketches Part 2

2009-12-16T09:52:00.003+01:00

Eagle owl

Tawny owl

Bussard & Stone Curlew(below)

Hellenic Wildlife hospital- B&W sketches Part 1

2009-12-13T23:58:00.010+01:00

It was March of 2000,when I decided to visit the Hellenic Wildlife Hospital ( check out the http://www.ekpazp.gr/multi158/ ) on the
Island of Aigina , close to Athens, to spend there eight days sketching and studying its
mainly feathered patients. Sadly there were too many of them, mostly victims of human's activities. On the other hand , I had the unique opportunity to study so many different species from close quarters and I used this chance to do as many studies as I could.
It was one of the most productive periods of my life.
I'll start posting the B&W studies first and the coloured ones will follow..
I hope you'll enjoy...

Griffon vulture

Bonelli's eagle

Short-toed eagle

Jackdaw & Jay( race atricapillus) below

2009-12-13T23:48:00.003+01:00

Cattle Egret

Little bustard

Levant sparrowhawk

Scops owl (both)

Copic markers-more big cats

2009-12-08T08:53:00.001+01:00

Copic markers-birds , tree studies & Big cats

2009-12-04T18:59:00.004+01:00

I'm still posting fieldwork from the same period (1999-2001)
while the raptors are replaced by big cats and other studies
even trees.

2009-12-04T18:52:00.002+01:00

2009-12-04T18:48:00.002+01:00

Copic markers-more Raptors and Owls

2009-12-01T10:35:00.002+01:00

2009-12-01T10:24:00.002+01:00

Copic markers-Raptors

2009-11-27T00:07:00.004+01:00

Visiting Falconries gave me great opportunities to study these magnificent creatures from close quarters and refine this technic at the same time.
These drawings were the first painted on watercolour paper.

Copic markers-mammals from the first period

2009-11-19T08:23:00.005+01:00

This is the last post showing drawings from the first period,
where almost transparent paper suitable for markers has been used.
Looking after new challenges I decided to start using watercolourpaper
which helped to develop new technical methods.
New post will follow soon...

2009-11-19T08:19:00.002+01:00

2009-11-19T08:15:00.002+01:00

2009-11-14T18:23:00.001+01:00

2009-11-14T18:18:00.002+01:00

Copic markers-more mammals

2009-11-11T09:19:00.002+01:00

2009-11-11T09:16:00.002+01:00

2009-11-11T09:13:00.002+01:00

Copic markers-Mammals and others

2009-11-08T23:21:00.003+01:00

The big mammals, the hoofed ones in particular dominated this period of
the "Copic experiment".

2009-11-08T23:17:00.002+01:00

2009-11-08T23:15:00.002+01:00

Copic markers-more Birds

2009-11-04T15:15:00.002+01:00

2009-11-04T15:12:00.001+01:00

2009-11-04T15:09:00.002+01:00

Copic markers-Bird drawings

2009-11-03T21:34:00.001+01:00

2009-11-03T21:31:00.002+01:00

2009-11-03T21:28:00.002+01:00

Zoo-copic markers

2009-11-02T23:46:00.004+01:00

I was talking already in a previous post of the various attempts I made
looking for suitable mediums for fieldsketching & drawing.
Soon after I moved to Munich in 1997, I discovered the Copic markers,
a medium widely used by Graphic-Designers, which soon became my favorite
because enabled the colouring of my sketches within a very short time.
Of course I had to understand and find out first the new medium's qualities
and there was a long period of experiments, but at least I managed to achieve the wished results.
I'll start posting gradually the whole range of artwork, from the very first attempts to the refined latest ones.

2009-11-02T23:30:00.001+01:00

2009-11-02T23:26:00.002+01:00

Coloured pencils-more drawings

2009-10-26T15:08:00.001+01:00

2009-10-26T14:57:00.003+01:00

2009-10-26T14:54:00.003+01:00

Coloured pencils & Capercailies

2009-10-25T22:57:00.003+01:00

Looking for new subjects and challenges and since I felt more confident
to try out new mediums on the spot, I thought that the use of coloured pencils could be
the next step forwards after a long period of black-white sketching.
Someone suggested then to visit the "Alpen Zoo" in Innsbruck-Austria, which I did and never regret it. The Capercailies I saw for the first time in life there, became one of my favorite birds
and still are....

2009-10-25T22:51:00.002+01:00

Reptiles-Zoo & Falconries

2009-10-24T17:19:00.005+02:00

It was 1999.
At this point of time I "discovered" the first raptor-collection close to Munich.
This first encounter filled me with excitement and it was just the begin of many visits
and many drawings on the "spot" to come..
A travel exhibition of alive European reptiles in our zoo gave good opportunities to
make several studies..

2009-10-24T17:14:00.002+02:00

2009-10-24T17:09:00.002+02:00

Zoo-drawings with ballpoint pen

2009-10-21T00:02:00.003+02:00

Still working oudoors in the zoo, and feeling more familiar with my models,
I tried out to find suitable mediums to work with, and experimented with the
BIC ballpoint pens now. I found the yellow one with its fine point ideal to depict textures like
Fur, feathers and branches, as well to achieve the wished results working on gradualy changing shadow-tones .
It was the begin of a new period of experiments , the "Ballpoint pen" period...
A step forward in the development process..

2009-10-20T23:26:00.001+02:00

Zoo- black & white drawings to be continued

2009-10-15T22:29:00.002+02:00

2009-10-15T22:20:00.003+02:00

2009-10-15T22:15:00.002+02:00

2009-10-11T23:32:00.002+02:00

It is obvious that I was somewhat obsessed by my wish to study
as many animals I could trying to capture their character from various angles.
As Mike Woodcock commended , this process was real "educational" to me,
helping me to feel more confident depicting my models.

2009-10-11T23:27:00.001+02:00

2009-10-11T23:22:00.002+02:00

2009-10-11T23:19:00.002+02:00

Zoo-Bisons and others

2009-10-09T11:24:00.004+02:00

As already previously told, Bisons dominated the artwork of my
first Zoo-period , particularly the european ones.

2009-10-09T11:14:00.003+02:00

2009-10-09T11:05:00.002+02:00

2009-10-09T11:00:00.002+02:00

Zoo-more drawings

2009-10-08T18:15:00.003+02:00

2009-10-08T17:37:00.002+02:00

2009-10-08T17:29:00.002+02:00

2009-10-08T16:47:00.003+02:00

Zoo-big mammals

2009-10-06T11:33:00.005+02:00

My main subject of interest were the big mammals now, paricularly the
hoofed ones. So many interesting shapes, very appealing!
I don't know why, but I hesitated to use colours in this period,
using mainly ballpoint pen, except of few drawings sketched using coloured
pencils. I pressume that I wanted to understand my new models first,
and then to continue making coloured studies.
By the way, the Saker falcon studies were the first I've ever made.

2009-10-06T11:29:00.002+02:00

2009-10-06T11:17:00.001+02:00

Munich zoo-more fieldwork

2009-10-02T21:28:00.003+02:00

Looking for cooperative models I began to study the large mammals,
where my preference were both American and European Bisons, while
the european fascinated me most, having in mind the ancient origins
of this species, and the legendary wallpaintings in Altamira's and Lascaux caves.

2009-10-02T21:25:00.002+02:00

2009-10-02T21:21:00.002+02:00

2009-10-02T21:17:00.002+02:00

Munich zoo- to be continued...

2009-10-01T14:40:00.006+02:00

Soon, my attention was attracted by particular animals
such like European Bison and Przewalski horse for example,
and this interest still exist even today.
I've never expect to see and study these mammals in live, so I tried to capture
the character of various individuals within the species as detailed as I could.

2009-10-01T14:33:00.003+02:00

2009-10-01T14:27:00.002+02:00

Munich Zoo-Hellabrunn-first visits

2009-10-01T09:28:00.002+02:00

I was already in Munich, and within the first days I visited the Zoo, where finding so many

appealing models I tried to understand their shapes and sketch them using only a pencil, or at least a coloured one.

It was the first approach to completely new to me subjects.

Second Portion....

2009-09-30T08:52:00.003+02:00

And this is the second portion from this period of time..
The portraits are of my nephew Markus,2 years old then..
The last sketch, what I saw through my plane window, it was
the 10th of April 1997...

2009-09-30T08:48:00.003+02:00

2009-09-30T08:44:00.001+02:00