{"id":20782,"date":"2025-12-04T15:04:21","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T15:04:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ian-latham.com\/blog\/?p=20782"},"modified":"2025-12-04T15:04:21","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T15:04:21","slug":"birds-and-trees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ian-latham.com\/blog\/2025\/12\/04\/birds-and-trees\/","title":{"rendered":"Birds and Trees"},"content":{"rendered":"

Birds and Trees<\/span><\/p>\n

November has been all about birds and trees, mostly birds, mixed in with a lot of preparation for Open Studios on the last weekend of the month. After thinking about birds and trees<\/a> last month I started to draw birds.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Birds

‘Scattering’ (geese) 10\/11\/25<\/p><\/div>\n

This drawing of geese seemed the appropriate way to complete the first of the big drawings I laid backgrounds for in the last week. I made myself four large sheets for drawing, each made by using three A1 sheets of cartridge and using wallpaper paste to stick them together. <\/span><\/p>\n

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‘Jackdaw’ 14\/11\/25<\/p><\/div>\n

I used these to make four drawings, starting with this one of a jackdaw.<\/span><\/p>\n

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‘Gull’ 12\/11\/25<\/p><\/div>\n

Moving on to the seagull,<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Birds

‘Pigeons’ (after Milton Avery) 12\/11\/25<\/p><\/div>\n

While also working on the second, darker, sheet stretched last week to draw pigeons.<\/span><\/p>\n

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‘Rooks’ 14\/11\/25<\/p><\/div>\n

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‘Gulls’ 17\/11\/25<\/p><\/div>\n

Then I a made the crows and the seagulls. I gave them a kind of order but in reality they tend tom get worked on concurrently and ordered according to completion rather than the beginning. The pigeons reference Milton Avery’s ‘Paris Pigeons’<\/a> from 1955.<\/span><\/p>\n

I deliberately made these sheets to have a rough texture, it works better for some drawings than others, that gives the impression of the sky or of the breeze.<\/span><\/p>\n

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‘Dark Crows’ 19\/11\/25<\/p><\/div>\n

I made two small drawings of crows above trees while I was thinking of rookeries and realising that my crow drawings are actually rooks<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Birds

‘Light Crows’ 19\/11\/25<\/p><\/div>\n

It’s the splayed wing-tips!<\/span><\/p>\n

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‘a murder’ 19\/11\/25<\/p><\/div>\n

This led to the big drawing ‘a murder’ with the birds rendered as gestural shapes against the yellowing sky.<\/span><\/p>\n

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‘Crows in flight’ 24\/11\/25<\/p><\/div>\n

I made some black shapes from offcuts of styrofoam to mount and give the idea of rooks flying together.<\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.ian-latham.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/crows-261125_short.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

I had a visit from some rooks, I assume, on the 25th November. We usually get one or two rooks or crows in the garden but this is the most I have seen at any one time. Maybe that’s what you get for thinking about birds and trees.<\/p>\n

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‘Crows in flight’ 11\/25 detail<\/p><\/div>\n

These are to be mounted above head height.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Studio 26\/11\/25 ‘the difference between birds and trees’ and ‘Crows in flight’<\/p><\/div>\n

Then presented in conjunction with ‘the difference between birds and trees’.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Open Studio 29\/11\/25<\/p><\/div>\n

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Open Studio 29\/11\/25<\/p><\/div>\n

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Open Studio 29\/11\/25<\/p><\/div>\n

These images are from the open weekend, 29th<\/sup> and 30th<\/sup> November. There were fewer visitors than last time, Saturday was miserable and rained all day. Sunday was better and I got a tentative sale and an offer of an exhibition next year.<\/span><\/p>\n

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More crows in flight 30\/11\/25<\/p><\/div>\n

I did some drawing on both days, the small ones in response to requests for smaller works to buy. My intention was to separate them for framing but the birds seem to work well together.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The artist in the studio 30\/11\/25<\/p><\/div>\n

Finally I got photographed by Mike Stubbs <\/a><\/span>when he visited the studio on Sunday, somewhere between the Pub Landlord <\/a><\/span>and Buster Bloodvessel<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Drawing<\/b><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve continued to draw every day; <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The November drawings can be seen here<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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