#508 Ex Libris

I love books and I love to read.

I collect books - new books, old books, and rare books . . .
about many different subjects.  My focus, however, is on art,
animals, and history.  I have a real library filled floor to
ceiling with books arranged in a peculiar system that only
I know but cannot explain.  When I shuttle a book
between the library and studio, I always return it to the
same place.  Typically, I can lay my hands on any
book at any given time and I have an uncanny way
of knowing if a book is missing or is out of place. 

 I love the feel, the weight, the smell - everything - about books. 

I love ripping cellophane off of new books and the sound of a book
being opened for the first time.  I love the pictures, illustrations,
and maps in books.  I love the bindings, marbling, bookplates,
and pressed flowers that I find in old books.

My library is a baronial-sized room that is my sanctuary,
and when I enter it, adventure is imminent.
I love the reassurance of having a book nearby,
and I'm uncomfortable in a room where there are no books. 

   Although the internet has opened a wealth of access and knowledge to "information  junkies" like me . . .
nothing will ever replace a book.
While a computer can answer specific questions
and epitomizes the ultimate reference source. . .
a book offers the surprise of discovery and may present information that one, perhaps, had not thought to ask about! 

Below, are images of my library and various studio bookcases and shelves.

What are books without bookends?  I love bookends and over the years have created over
30 different designs . . . below are samples.

Quail Gamebird Bokends

 Remembering Will James Bookends

 Reflection and Resolve Bookends

 Rooster Head Bookends

Turkey Bookends

To learn more about the subjects in this blog go to the links below.  
For a complete list of the blog index go to the Index Page and 
type the subject in the Search This Blog link on the right.

Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish Smith

#505 In the studio: field guides

Start this series with post # 503, Feb. 5, 2014

Most bird artists are not ornithologists, but knowing how science has organized and classified birds in a 
field guide is an enormous help to the artist while researching an individual species.  
The importance can be summed up in one word . . . research.

Below, the publication of field guides such as Roger Tory Peterson's Field Guide to Birds 
in the United States in 1934, has greatly facilitated the identification of different species of birds.

In the 1960s and 1970s there was a proliferation of bird guides for North America, Europe, 
Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South America, Africa, and a multitude of additional regions.
There are currently over 30 different field guide for North American birds . . . 
including :  Peterson's, Audubon, Golden, Reader's Digest, 
National Geographic, Kaufman, Stokes, Sibley, and many, many more. 


Below, are a few of the many field guide publications available to the artist . . . I use them all.

Some field guides, such as Audubon feature photographs, others such as Sibley present accurate illustrations that highlight species patterns.  Almost all,  begin with the most primitive species such as the flightless birds and work their way through the orders listed in the previous blogpost . . . ending with the highest evolved order - the passerines.

The artist will find that the field guide is an essential, well-tested, and practical system for learning 
species description, shapes, size, silhouette, and proportion.  In the studio, it is my starting place  
when a new clay block-in of an individual species is on the sculpture stand.   

Below, a field guide provides proportions -  length from tip of the beak to tip of the tail and wingspan - 
of a Northern Goshawk.  Shown, is a block-in demo at a recent Scottsdale Artists' School bird sculpture workshop. 
Note the L and WS  (length and wingspan) marked on the armature base are 50% life-sized . . . 
proportions and measurements are critical when starting a sculpture.

 In the year 2000, bird enthusiasts were introduced to the much-anticipated publication of 
Sibley's Guide to Birds.  Although I own and routinely use many field guides by different publishers, 
Sibley's is the one I teach with and use most in the studio.  Below, is a spread from Sibley's.  

 Since birds in flight don't pose for the artist . . .  when I start a block-in of a bird in motion or in flight, 
I accumulate everything that can serve as reference: various field guides, field sketches, 
photos, notes, videos, books, and my clip files and tear sheets from old magazines, etc.  
Most important for finishing a sculpture is "in the field" encounters with the specific subject.


Below, one of the primary ways to identify birds in the field is the realization of shape and silhouette 
of the individual species. . . a field guide is a"must" for the bird artist when in the field.   The overall silhouette 
of the subject must be perceived by the viewer at once . . . both in the field and in the completed sculpture.

Below,  is a sculpture entitled, Falcon Heart Humming.  Each bird has a distinct shape and silhouette and the most important characteristic of the subject must be grabbed and perceived by the viewer at once.    

Falcon Heart Humming

20"H 20"W 16"D

To learn more about the subjects in this blog go to the links below.  
For a complete list of the blog index go to the Index Page and 
type the subject in the Search This Blog link on the right.

Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish Smith

#501 Museum Shows: The Autry, con't . . .

The Autry weekend is over and below are

 images and memories of one of the most important
exhibitions of representational art in the country:
The Autry Masters.  
I enjoyed good sales, met lots of collectors and saw many old friends.






The exhibition is open Sat. Feb 1, through Sun, Mar 16, 2014

 more information start with post #498, Jan. 22 and go to

theautry.org/masters

Below, the high-relief sculpture, Hawkeye, is mounted for a wall hanging.

Below, Great Horned Owl, 5 x 7 oil on panel.

Below, are images of the new works that were introduced at the

Autry Museum's Masters of the American West Exhibition and Sale.

Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish Smith

#469 A new book: "Art of the National Parks"

Earlier this year, a new book entitled, "Art of the National Parks", was introduced.

The book includes 70 artists who offer distinctive visions of 8 of the nation's beloved national parks.

With more than 450 artworks in 430 pages, this glorious, large format book is a must for
anyone who has hiked the trails, watched a sunset, marveled at buffalo herds,
or yearned to experience America's mythic and transformative vistas.  

Published by Fresco Fine Art Publications, co-authored by Susan Hallsten McGarry,
well-known author;  Jean Stern,  curator and art-historian;  and Terry Lawson Dunn,

biologist and educator, the book is an indispensable compendium of artists who are at the
forefront of 21st century American landscape and wildlife art.


Below, included in Yellowstone section of the book are friends and fellow artists . . .
Clyde Aspevig, Scott Christensen, Ralph Oberg,  Jim Wilcox, and more.
Jim's painting is featured on the cover of the magnificent book.

http://www.amazon.com/
http://www.unmpress.com/

My work was included in the Yellowstone National Park section.

Below, are images of works featured.

 Sleepy Fox
18"H 15"W 9"D

 Ancient Way
20"H 24"W 11"D

 Red-tailed Hawk at Sappa Creek
42"H 30"W 25"D

 Harbinger of Light
13H 20"W 16"D

Hay Bay
19"H 25"W 14"D


Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott

#428 In the studio: Bird anatomy, con't . . .

Please start this bird anatomy series with post #403, March 10.

Below is a clarified drawing of a hawk with folded wings.  

Feather groups such as coverts impart definite shape, form, and thickness to the bird.
Feather groups are critical information to understand because they shape the contour of the bird . . .
Feathers modify the skeletal configuration considerably.

Every bird has the same groupings, from the tiny songbird to the largest hawk.

Below are two recent works.

Solitude depicts a quiet pose with closed wings . . .
notice how the stiff primaries separate the dove's tail feathers.

Reflection and Resolve shows various feather groupings around the head.

 Solitude
10"H 10"W 8"D

Reflection and Resolve
7"H 8"W 6"D


All sculpture and drawings - copyright Sandy Scott

#427 In the studio: Bird anatomy, con't . . .

Please start this bird anatomy series with post #403, March 10.

Understanding the bird's anatomy takes the mystery out of drawing and modeling.  

The skeleton influences the surface appearance even though the bird is covered with feathers.
Identifying the bird's wrist establishes a point of reference . . . a landmark or waypoint . . . 

a unit of measure to determine wing shapes and proportions.  

All birds fall into a semblance of four basic wing shapes - see post 423, May 5, 2013.  

Identifying the wrist helps the artist establish proportion and pose.   

No waypoint is more important than the bird's wrist when modeling the folded or partially folded wing.  

By locating this boney waypoint, the sculptor can easily determine where the secondaries and primaries originate.  

Harbinger of Light

15"H 20"W 16"D

All sculpture and drawings - copyright Sandy Scott

#425 In the studio: Bird anatomy, con't . . .

Please start this bird anatomy series with post #403, March 10.

At right is a drawing of 3 of a bird's 10 primary flight feathers . . . the artist must know that each of the 10 individual primaries is shaped differently.  The outermost primaries - numbers 1  2 are narrower at the tips, thus creating "slots" necessary for flight maneuverability.  The primaries closest to the secondaries are shaped more like the secondary feathers.   

At right is a cross-section drawing of a wing:  Both an airplane and a bird can change the angle in which the shape moves through the air.  This adjustment is called the wing's angle of attack. . . see post # 424.  When an airplane comes in for a landing, the nose comes up allowing the shape and resistance of the fuselage to slow the airplane.  When the landing gear is lowered, creating more drag, it slows the airplane as it descends.  The pilot continues pulling the nose up, or increasing the angle of the wing's attack, until the wing stalls or stops flying, placing the machine on terra firma.  A bird is analogous to an airplane . . . it drops the backend of it's body, splays the tail feathers, and drops the legs to create drag,  thus permitting the flaring and stalling of the wings which results in a landing!

Why is this information important to the bird artist?  Understanding wing shapes, attitude, 

and aerodynamics will open the door to breathing life into the artist's work.  the artist must 

realize that it is the superb shape of the bird's wing that causes the wonder of flight.

Below is an original, hand-tinted etching of mallards pitching in for a landing . . .

tail feathers flared, body angled, "gear" down, and wings angled high . . .

the ducks are slowing down to alight on a pond.

Mallards

7 1/4 x 8 1/4

All sculpture and drawings - copyright Sandy Scott

#423 In the studio: Bird anatomy, con't . . .

Please start this bird anatomy series with post #403, March 10.

Wing shapes vary among birds, reflecting the adaptations they have made to different environments.  There are four basic wing shapes, and all birds fall into a semblance of one of the four configurations.  The size and shape of the wings give clues to how the bird lives:

   1.  Long, wide wings are used by soaring birds such as hawks, eagles, and
        ravens.  A wing is considered long when it exceeds the length of the
        bird's body.
   2.  Narrow and pointed wings are used by fast flying birds such as swallows,
        swifts, and many migratory birds such as ducks and geese.
   3.  Long and narrow wings are used by gliding birds such as albatrosses,
        gulls, terns, fulmars, and shearwaters.
   4.  Wide and rounded wings are used for short, fast, and quick-escape flight
        birds such as grouse, pheasants, pigeons, and owls.

The wings of birds do not all have the same shape and size, but all fall into one of the four basic categories.  The shape and size of the wings determines what style of flying a bird executes.  Wing shape is one of the primary ways to identify different species.

Below are illustrations of four different wings.  Each fall into one of the four wing shape categories.

Below is a drawing of a Canada Goose . . . the large bird is migratory and falls into the
basic wing shape of number 2.  However, the wing is also wide and can be considered
to fall into a slight semblance of wing shape number 1, even though it cannot soar. 

All sculpture and drawings - copyright Sandy Scott

#182 In the field: Up the creek - in search of birds con't . . .

Recently we rode horses on a remote trail along Oak Creek (see yesterday's blog)
in search of birds.  We were not disappointed!  Gambel's Quail, Roadrunners, Eagles,
Hawks and a variety of waterfowl including the abundant Great Blue Heron were sighted.

Left, looking up, Trish spots a Great Blue Heron in flight.  Over the past few weeks I've experienced the great bird often on my daily walks along the creek and am under the
influence of the creature.