Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Drawing - Tree Swallow

Tree Swallow (Detail) - Graphite on Paper
Copyright 2010, Nicole MacPherson

Still more blue haze on the scan, sorry about that!  I think I need to learn how to photograph these drawings, instead of leaving them to the mercy of the scanning software!  I actually did a full-body drawing of this bird, but in resizing the image fit on a computer screen, alot of the detail was lost.  Therefor, I offer you two versions of this drawing, the full image is at the end of this post.

Tree Swallows have charm in abundance.  Even when they're not doing anything, they look cute.  Through the spring and summer, most of the Tree Swallows you see are a beautiful iridescent blue.  In the fall, most of them are a soft brown.  It can be hard to tell them from the two "brown-all-the-time" Swallows, the Northern Rough-Winged and the Bank Swallows.  But brown Tree Swallows have a sharply defined transition from the colored head to the white chin (presented nicely by our model, above) and no brown across the chest. 

Tree Swallows can also break your heart.  In some places, they congregate in the hundreds, or even thousands.  Usually around marshes, but sometimes on powerlines and roads, where some are inevitably killed by cars.  But instead of leaving the source of danger and abandoning their lost loved ones, some of the Swallows will stay alongside their fallen friends, even as traffic continues. 

Tree Swallow - Graphite on Paper
Copyright 2010, Nicole MacPherson
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4 comments:

  1. I just dream of being able to draw birds like this, I can't even do a decent line! sooo beautiful, they capture the essense of the bird i'm in awe

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  2. This is wonderful, Nicole. You`ve captured that typical look of interest Tree Swallows offer. Perfect!!

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  3. Thanks Harold! I love their curiosity, they have the neatest expressions...

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