There is small colony of Nutcrackers in Punkaharju Lusto. Parikkala is not far and sometimes birds from there come here. Nutcrackers also rarely brees here in Parikkala and we also get Siberian migrants some years. Our population is thinner billed Siberian type birds. This august there was several Nutcrackers in Parikkala. Cleaning pines from cones.
Janne got this great video near main railwaystation that has been most common site for the species.
I started planning painting of Nutcrackers. Here are first small composition plans I made as a first step.
I got this gone from neighbours garden were is nice pine that Nutcrackers also like.
Painting is now nearly finished. I will add some more areas with light and some details to needles and cone.
Wildlife artist can not just stay in atelje. You have to search for inspiration and painting ideas. Today it was very dark day but still we managed to see species like Hawk Owl, White-backed Woodpecker, Marsh Tit, nice male Sparrow Hawk and lots of Goldeneyes and Mergancers.
During the day we visited this very nice and active hawk owl. It hunted this vole in front of our eyes. They have great eye sight and this bird poitend its prey from couple of hundres of meters! Video by Janne Aalto
Now it is again the time when sckething outside comes impossible and artists stay in their ateljees. If you would try to paint outside your fingers would not work after some minutes and acrylic paint tubes would freese. Frozen acrylics would be spoilled and brush tip would freeze before it hits the canvas…
We had wery nice sunny day today. Expect that temperature was -29 centigrade and sun just barely climbs over the horizon. I just checked and now in the evening it is -33 (-27,4 F)! This kind of weather reminds that I live northern than the southern tip of Greenland, even if summers can be very hot. Here is screen shots from temperature forecast maps from this year. We have 70 degrees difference between summer and winter. This is chalenging for artist.
So I have to paint winter scenes indoors. I have been collecting items that I might need as a reference. I have big plastic box full of branches of different tree species, bark, gras and dead plants, cones, lichen and stones. If the reference I need is too big to carry home I have to take picture of it with me. Yesterday I picked larix branches for middle spotted woodpecker painting that I am planning now.
Low sun gives very nice orange shade to these birches. I love to paint this colour.
These phalaeopsis orchis flover even if there is very litle light. Almost all of my orchids have buds so after a moth these plants will look wonderfull.
I wish you merry Cristmass with this flover picture.
Finnish birding art artists made their autunum birding expedition to Hanko in Finnish most shouthern tip. This long weekend consisted drawing, photographing and of cource lots of talking about birds and bird art. Timing of the meeting was exelent and we had a chance to see thousands of Jay´s, tens of thousands of wood pigeons and hundreds of sparrowhawks on their migration.
Picture collection of highlighs of the week end.
Hannu Sarvanne is drawing
Jari Kostet (left) and Hannu Sarvanne
Dick Forsman is photographing huge Jay flock.
Jay trying to fly south
Crossing the sea is very difficould for Jay.
Sparrow hawks vere attacking migrating birds.
Kari Eicher, Esko Railo and Seppo Leinonen are ready for next flock of birds.
Hannu Sarvanne is looking for wood pigeon flocks
Pekka Suhonen
Juho Könönen smiles happily after great birding day
There is very few scratchboard artists in Finland. Leena Pekkalainen is one of them. She makes black and white horse scratchings. It seems that I am the only one here who makes fully coloured scratchboard paintings.
Scratchboard or scraperboard is a technique where pictures are created using sharp tools for etching into a thin layer of white caolin clay that is coated with black ink or colourful paint. I use Ampersand claybord that I colour before srcatching. I also wash all exposed white caolin with thin layers of acrylic colours. Usually I airbrush the layer that I am going to scratch first. Next layers I paint by brush.
Some of the tools that I have tried:
I find the scalpel in left to be best tool. Brushes and needles loose their sharpnes. Blades can be changed easily. Fiberglass brush tends to take too litle or too much paint of.
