Plein Air, Gulls at St. Catharine's 5, 7.25.24
Plein Air, Gulls at St. Catharine's 5, 7.25.24
21. Original Plein Air Drawing, "Plein Air, Gulls at St. Catharine's 5, 7.25.24”, ink, 9 x 12”, 2024
Location: St. Catharine’s, Ontario, Canada
This drawing is the fifth of five pages of gull drawings, all made from life on the same day on a beach in Port Dalhousie, near St. Catharine’s, Ontario. The more I draw a certain subject, the better the work gets.I got lucky here - this particular gull stopped to stare at me for somewhere from two to five minutes, while otherwise the gulls that day were extremely active and on the move constantly. I could take my time to truly observe the intricacies of its eye and brow and fluffy breast, the individual gray feathers. When I have such bird close encounters, I can feel their intelligence, their curiosity. This drawing and the others set the stage for a series of watercolor studies I made the next day, and gave me a process for exploring new subjects - sketch first, then paint. I would go on to apply this logic to pelicans and other subjects along the road for Art Tour 2024.