#583 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 my in the field experience and reference is gathered at the 

island studio located on Lake of the Woods.  Starting with blog #578, 

the birds of the North Country including those who remain during Ontario's frigid winter weather have been explored.  The focus 

of this blog is the different species of owls who stay

during the winter in the vicinity of my island studio.

Although we've never wintered at the cabin when the lake is frozen over,  my thoughts often go to the animals who are able to withstand the bitter cold winter months.  Owls are among the creatures who are
able to adapt to a world of wind, ice, and snow.

Among the different species of owls who remain in the frozen North Country in the Lake of the Woods region
are the Great Gray Owl, the Snowy Owl, the Northern Hawk Owl, the Northern Saw-whet Owl,
the Boreal Owl, the Barred Owl, and the Great Horned Owl.


At left above and below are photos of the Great Horned Owl.

Owls are members of the order Strigiformes, are mainly nocturnal predators, have
 distinctive forward-facing eyes which gives depth perception much like your own eyes,
 and a facial disk which helps the bird hear . . . much like a satellite dish.

Owls have the best night vision of any creature on earth allowing them to hunt in the dark.
 Interestingly, one of an owl's ear holes is higher than the other which helps the bird find prey. . .
owls have superb hearing and vision.  The tufts of feathers on some owls are not ears . . .
the ears are behind their moveable facial discs allowing hearing from different directions.
Also, an owl's wing feathers have soft, frayed edges which permits silent flight while hunting.

Below is a photo of a Barred Owl. . . a species without ear tufts.

Below, is a drawing of a Great Gray Owl . . . an enormous, secretive Northwoods owl who more than any other,
defines the Lake of the Woods coniferous forest.  I've experienced the Great Gray only a few times
while in residence at the island studio.  Once, at dusk I heard its distinctive deep hooting and was
finally able to locate it in a pine tree.  On another occasion, I saw the beautiful bird
cruising through the woods on the wing while grouse hunting.

Below, is a head study of a Great Horned Owl.  The drawing was created at the Brookgreen Gardens Aviary
and was the precursor to a sculpture demonstration for students in the workshop.

Below, is the clay model of the workshop demonstration depicting a head study of a Great Horned Owl created at the
 Brookgreen Gardens Aviary.  Also shown, is the bronze casting of the demo entitled, "Wind in the Woods".

Below, is a little acrylic painting of a Snowy Owl created in Alaska during a canoe trip on
the Noatak River recently. The Snowy does not nest in the Lake of the Woods region where my island
studio is located but moves in from its nesting area in the arctic tundra during the winter to feed.

Oil on panel

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

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

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

On September 24 of this year, beginning with post #568, I started
a series of posts describing time spent at my beloved studio and
cabin located on an island on Lake of the Woods in Ontario, Canada.
There are many earlier posts about the cabin as well and they all describe
inspiration derived from being immersed in a wilderness
environment.  Since the early 1960s, the Canadian
North Country has been and continues to be,
an important source for my art.

Please see the previous post for more information about
birds of the North Country.

The focus of this post is the Ruffed Grouse.

Although many birds migrate or move south out of the frozen North Country and Ontario's Lake of the Woods region, some stay throughout the winter:  Among those who remain are the Ruffed Grouse, the Gray Jay, northern owls
such as the Great Gray, Boreal, and the Snowy, winter finches such as Pine and Evening Grosbeak,
Northern Shrike, Bohemian Waxwing, some woodpeckers, ravens, chickadees, and others.

When the woods are locked in the grip of winter, birds must be active to stay alive and sunny days mean
frantic feeding activity.  Ruffed Grouse are hardy, know their habitat and rarely starve . . . they hunker
down in a snowbank for cover and shelter when the air temperature drops below zero.
Trapped air in the snow provides a warmer cover and protection from the biting wind.








Shown at left, is a taxidermy mount of a Ruffed Grouse
that resides in the island studio on Lake of the Woods.
I have a large collection of taxidermy mounts
of birds and mammals in both the Canada
and Wyoming studios.  Taxidermy can be a
great reference for the artist but does not
take the place of knowing the anatomy or
experiencing the critter in the field.








Below, is a drawing from my ever-present sketchbook of a Ruffed Grouse.

 I have been working on a sculpture of a pair of Ruffed Grouse in the Wyoming studio for several years.
The clay model originated as two separate block-in demonstrations for students in workshops and I
combined them into a pair.  Next summer, I plan to take the model to the Canada studio to work on,
hopefully finish, and take to mold.  There are so many Ruffed Grouse on the island and since
I believe an artist is truly inspired by their surroundings, the creative juices will flow!  


Below, are images of the Ruffed Grouse sculpture in progress . . . can't wait to take it to Canada!

More about Ruffed Grouse in next Sunday's post.

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

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

#530 In the field: Brookgreen Gardens aviary, Great Blue Heron, con't . . .

Start this series with  #522,  April 16, 2014.  http://www.brookgreen.org/
http://www.brookgreenworkshops.com

The Great Blue Heron is a large wading bird and is common over most of North America.

I frequently see them on my pond in Wyoming but in the western high country, they are migratory.
The big birds are so hardy that as long as water remains unfrozen, they will be in residence.

Below, the Great Blue Heron usually nests in trees and while at Brookgreen  

 I photographed this bird building a nest high in a tree in the aviary.

Below, are drawings created in the cedar swamp aviary.

Below, are close-up reference photos that will be useful in the studio.

 I took over 3,000 digital images in the aviary last month and  created many drawings as well.      
The experience was unforgettable and I'm excited about getting to work with the material I gathered while observing the creatures at one of the most beautiful places on earth:  Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina's Lowcountry!

Below, are images of a recent sculpture entitled:  "Nesting Heron".

To learn more about the subjects in this blog go to the links below.

For a complete list of  the blog subjects go to the Index Page and

type the subject in the Search This Blog link on right.

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

#528 In the field: Brookgreen Gardens workshop, con't . . .

Start this series with  #522,  April 16, 2014.  http://www.brookgreen.org

This blog post is another review requested by my workshop students 

and I hope collectors and bird lovers enjoy it as well.
http://www.brookgreenworkshops.com
http://scottsdaleartschool.org

A bird's feathers grow in sets and groups and the bird artist must know how both body feather groups 

and flight feathers are arranged.  Feathers grow in tracks in orderly rows, and overlap like 

shingles on a roof.  Plumage patterns are organized in a similar manner across all species.

Below, these photos were take at Brookgreen Garden's aviary.

For a complete list of  the blog subjects go to the Index Page and

type the subject in the Search This Blog link on right.

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

#527 In the field: Brookgreen Gardens workshop, con't . . .

Start this series with  #522,  April 16, 2014.  http://www.brookgreen.org

I post bird anatomy and armature building on this blog as a review and continuing education for students.
One of the most frequently requested subjects concerns my method of constructing a "cantilever" armature
which supports the projected wings of birds in flight.

The dictionary explains "cantilever" as a projection, fixed at one end, that is used in construction.

Below, are two different versions of the "cantilever" armature set-up using 1/2 inch plumber's pipe, floor flange, "T-joint"
and tie wire . . . all materials that are available at a hardware store.  Strength and stability is
achieved by packing clay around the "T-joint" after inserting loosely twisted tie wire.

The top picture depicts the armature set-up with a double loop of wire for a wingspan in excess of 20 to 22 inches.
The second photo depicts a single loop twisted wire set-up for wingspans of a shorter length.
Please note:  Each loop is made up of TWO wires, loosely twisted together.
The single wire was placed to denote the wingspan [in inches] of the species to be modeled.

Below, aluminum foil is used as a vehicle to carry the warm clay and to cantilever and project the wing shape
into space . . . a wingspan exceeding 30 inches can successfully be constructed in this manner.
A thorough explanation of the "cantilever" armature system is available in my workshop and I invite workshop
participants to follow along with their own work as I demonstrate the amazing strength of the armature.

http://www.brookgreenworkshops.com

Below, as I demonstrated the armature system by modeling a duck with outstretched wings in the workshop,
a student followed along and depicted a barn swallow in flight.

Below, are examples of block-ins and works in progress of birds in flight using the "cantilever" armature system.

Below, are examples of cast bronze sculptures of birds in flight . . .
I used the "cantilever" armature system while creating these works.

A Day on the Bay (View 1)
12"H 15"W 10"D

 A Day on the Bay (View 2)
12"H 15"W 10"D



Hay Bay
19"H 25"W 14"D

Falcon Heart Humming
20"H 20"W 16"D

Height of Land
12"H 23"W 15"D

To learn more about the subjects in this blog go to the links below.

For a complete list of  the blog subjects go to the Index Page and

type the subject in the Search This Blog link on right.

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

#526 In the field: Brookgreen Gardens workshop, con't . . .

Start this series with  #522,  April 16, 2014.  http://www.brookgreen.org

 During the morning of day 1 of the class, we visited Brookgreen Garden's excellent aviary and zoo and observed and photographed birds such as the Great Horned Owl, Barred Owl, Red-tailed Hawk, and Bald Eagles shown below.

The plan was to model a simple head study and learn about making molds before
beginning a more in-depth study of bird anatomy and structure.

Upon returning to the classroom, we used the aviary experience along with computer searches as reference
for modeling a head study.  Shown below is a workshop participant preparing a sculpture for molding.

All birds have the same basic feather groups around the head and the sculptor must
identify the individual feather sets and shapes while modeling a bird's head.

Below, is a clarified drawing of a songbird with the individual head feather groups identified.

Below, is a drawing and a clay model head study of a Great Horned Owl that I created in class as a demonstration.
I invited the workshop participants to "follow me" while constructing a simple armature and building shapes to form
the owl's distinctive head features.   Plunging in and modeling in clay on the first morning of the workshop
was enjoyed by all.  The afternoon session of day 1 began the exploration of bird anatomy, wing structure,
feather groupings, and armature building and will be discussed in the next blog.

Below, is a bronze sculpture depicting head studies of a Red-tailed Hawk.


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

This year, we had a small class for the Brookgreen Gardens 5-day bird sculpture workshop and therefore were able to introduce mold making to the class.  I've taught bird sculpture and anatomy for 28 years and have had many requests
to offer the mold making experience . . . a small class presented the opportunity and Trish Smith - who has made my molds for over 20 years - was on hand with material and expertise to lead the way.
http://www.brookgreenworkshops.com

Below . . . throughout the week, Trish explained and demonstrated rubber
mold material mixing, shimming, and rubber application.

To learn more about the subjects in this blog go to the links below.

For a complete list of  the blog subjects go to the Index Page and

type the subject in the Search This Blog link on right.

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