#637 In the studio: Green Heron

Compared to most herons, the Green Heron is small, dark, short and stocky with short legs, broad wings, 

long bill, and thick neck.   The crow-sized bird is sometimes call the Green-backed Heron.

Below, is John James Audubon's (1785 - 1851) lithograph of the Green Heron.

The Green Heron is typically concealed in vegetation and is hard to see because its coloration appears dark.

The little heron is solitary and secretive and lives around small bodies of water or densely vegetated areas.  

Seeing them is tricky and I've seen the bird only a few times in the wild and always along shallow marsh edges.

Below, are drawings created during a rare encounter with a Green Heron while in the South Carolina Low Country.

The Green Heron's neck is often pulled up against the body when at ease . . .  but when feeding, 

the bird thrusts its neck forward and the long, dagger-like bill strikes swiftly to catch prey.

Below, is a clay model of a recent sculpture of the Green Heron.  I chose a pose that depicts the bird hunting and about
to plunge for its its prey.  The heron appears dark while hunting in the shadows, but is beautifully colored in the sun.

The sculpture was modeled with a dark brown Classic Clay which is a very fine product and one 

of several different types and brands of oil based plasteline clay I use.  Typically, if the wings are extended, 

I use Chavant's Le Beau Touche clay because it is sticky and will adhere to armature wire and aluminum foil better.
 Note:  It's difficult to photograph Classic Clay because of its dark pigment

Below, is the new sculpture, "Green Heron" cast in bronze.
The patina was achieved with liver of sulfur, cupric nitrate, and a trace of ferric nitrate.

Green Heron
11"H 15"W 9"D
Edition 50
3,000

Go to the BLOG INDEX on the right for more information.

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

#582 In the Field: Birds of the North Country, con't . . .

This blog is part of a series of posts about
our island studio and cabin located on
Lake of the Woods in Ontario, Canada.
The series starts with #568, posted
September 24 of this year.  There are
many earlier posts about the cabin that
can be seen by going to the blog index.

Much of the inspiration for my art is gleaned from the wildlife and wilderness experience that surrounds the studio.
Trish and I have closed the cabin for the season but the influence and memories of the past remains.

The focus of this blog is woodpeckers.  Among the species of woodpeckers who remain in the frozen North Country
 winter and are able to cope with the brutal weather are the Pileated, Black-backed, Red-headed, Downy, Three-toed,
 and the Northern Flicker.  All woodpecker species have evolved with unique characteristics which enable them
 to exploit food sources, year around, that are untapped by other species.  Their sharp beaks enable them
 to excavate food from branches and trunks of trees that other birds can't reach.

Below, is a drawing of a Downy Woodpecker. . .  common in the Lake of the Woods region year around.

Another species of woodpecker that is common in the region where my cabin studio is located is the magnificent
Pileated Woodpecker.  These beautiful birds are large with a 30 inch wingspan and are routinely seen on our island.
They are almost entirely black with white neck stripes and white wing lining.
 Both sexes have a bright red head and a "mustache" which is black on females and red on males.

Below, is a drawing of a Pileated Woodpecker from my ever-present sketchbook.

Below, is a head study of a male Pileated Woodpecker.

A woodpecker's tongue if four times longer that it's beak and is amazingly flexible.
 It is mounted at the back of the skull, acts as a spring-like device which enables it to tunnel out wood eating insects.
Interestingly, the strong beak is mounted on the skull in such a way that the hardy bird
can withstand the stress of repeated hammering of trees.

Most birds have three forward-facing toes and one rear-facing toe.  Shown in the drawing below, woodpeckers
 have two front-facing and two rear-facing toes which give a stable platform while hammering away at a tree.

Below, is John James Audubon's imaginative illustration of the Pileated Woodpecker.
This is one of my favorite engravings from his celebrated,  Birds in America, published in 1830.

Woodpeckers are often heard long before they are seen.   In the fall, I love to walk
 in the woods and hear their tap-tapping ringing through the birch and conifers.
 The bitter winter will soon envelope the North Country . . . they will stay and I will go south.

Go to the BLOG INDEX on the right for more information. 

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