Ray Scally

Although i don't Know Ray that well i DO KNOW his artwork is Very Good Indeed. The first time i had the chance to formally introduce myself to Ray he was walking in the company of David Quinn along Kilnsea road so i didn't feel worthy to introduce myself to two very experienced and much loved bird artists. However as my work is on occasions printed alongside Ray's and he is a fellow Spurn artist i hope he wont mind me talking about work he has had recently published.

Ray's work has been recently published in two books and his illustrations have brought the pages alive. Ray is very good at capturing the moment in his work and his work is always bursting with life. The birds are never stood still and his subject always appears to be moving and what is even more amazing is the way he achieves this with such clean and minimal lines

Ray's first class artwork decorates the pages in:



Rare Birds Where and When
Volume 1: Sandgrouse to New World Orioles

Series: RARE BIRDS WHERE AND WHEN
An Analysis of Status and Distribution in Britain and Ireland

Author:Russell Slack and Ian Wallace



The Ultimate Site Guide to Scarcer British Birds

Author:Lee GR Evans

RAEL's Art

Although this isnt my work i felt the need to post as its bird art and i love it. These were a few sketches done by my friend Rael Butcher who will probably kill me for posting this work. Whilst living together in Hull i asked him to do a few sketches. He wasnt happy with the results so i gave him some pointers and he came up with these. He's a wasted talent when it comes to drawing birds and although he sketches when taking field notes for descriptions he should do it more reguarly. To say these are drawings done after not drawing for months says it all and after spending hours in Computer Class at Uni with him naming a bird and drawing it know he is very good. I unfortunatley rely on illustrating birds to truly understand birds and become a better birder where as Rael naturally understands birds and is an exceptional birder and therefore probably doesnt need to rely on illustration to further his wealth of Knowledge.

Spurn inspired Artwork

The Montagu's Harrier illustration was one i did for a description of a bird that flew south over the Humber whilst in the company of Steve Waite and Mike Coverdale, the Long-eared Owl was a quick mental sketch i did in room A after seeing the bird being harassed by Magpies in the vicinity of Little Hedge, the wagtail in flight depicts a Grey-headed wagtail(thunbergi)that flew south over the seawatch hide whilst stood with Andy Roadhouse,the Ringed Plover watercolour was a quick illustration i did whilst the female was off the nest during my stint as a Little Tern Warden at Beacon Ponds and the sepia pen sketch was a revised drawing of the bird in my painting. The swifts were done as a blueprint for a more detailed sketch i will finally complete for Steve Exley after he witnessed both the Pacific Swift and the Little Swift travelling south past the Seawatch Hide(just Pacific swift is depicted in the sketch shown).The gull is of a juvenile Iceland gull i witnessed off the beach just north of the warren that flew north before i could complete it.








This following work was inspired by events that took place at Spurn, although alot of it is still in working progress i aim to finish or reproduce work from these old ideas.

Sir Peter Scott

Whats really annoying though is the fact Sir Peter Scott's signature is fading quite rapidly on the report and i happened to miss Lars Jonsson's exhibition at Slimbridge to celebrate the life and work of a greatly missed bird art LEGEND!



Another one of my many art hero's is Sir Peter Scott. Not only did he and his legacy continue to do loads for Bird Conservation but he also produced some of the best wildfowl paintings ever to grace our shores. I would be very pushed to mention another bird artist who could encapsulate Wigeon grazing on a cold winter morning as well as he does or Geese leaving their roost to feed in the fields. I spent many a January and February morning birding at Slimbridge whilst living in Worcester and didnt even attempt to try and put the atmosphere of the place into my sketchbook and still cant understand how he did and dont think i ever will. Ive enclosed a scanned image one of my prized possesions. A Signed copy of the Severn Wildfowl Trust 2nd annual report that means the world to me.

2007/8 Sketches

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These are a few sketches i did and were not completed. They consist of drawings or paintings that were left unfinished due to losing the connection with the bird. If i dont feel the bird in my work i will simply stop and start again. Some of the following work were the preliminary ideas behind finished pieces. As you may have guest i always try and start with the birds head or the eye because in doing this not only do i get the character of the bird but it allows me to ascertain the proportions of the bird whereby i use the eye as the nucleaus. If i feel the birds personality is captured from the start of the drawing i will continue. Some of the following work is from photographic reference and may go to explain why there is so much unfinished work. Although photos are a fantastic tool in terms of flight drawings and feather topography in some instances they leave the bird lifeless and do nothing to portray the birds real attributes. Either way it does benefit drawing techniques and does help to hone skills during cold winter nights after working all day in a warehouse when birding is out of the question.