Wobbling Along

Canada Warbler Watercolor.  Copyright 2009 by Ken Januski.

Black-throated Blue Warblers at SCEE Watercolor. Copyright 2025 by Ken Januski

Nashville Warbler on Bean Trellis Mokuhanga, Copyright 2022 by Ken Januski.

Yellow-rumped Warbler Sumi Brushpen Field Sketch. Copyright 2025 by Ken Januski



I hope it will be somewhat obvious that the theme of this post is warblers, affectionately know at least occasionally as wobblers. Like many birders it was the wood warblers of North American that got me truly hooked on birding. Of course most should really be called the wood warblers of the Americas, not just North America. As an artist, especially one whose history was that of large, bold abstract paintings that is how I approached warblers: bold and colorful! 

There were a few minor problems with this, ones I've noted previously. The first was that I didn't know enough about the structure of birds to portray them accurately, especially if I limited myself as I did to my own poor photos and my visual memory. As a consequence many of my first attempts were colorful and bold but also skirted around bird structure as much as I could. The Canada Warbler above from 2009 is an example of this. A better example would be the watercolor I did of a Blackburnian Warbler seen and photographed at Shenandoah National Park that I used as the main image for my blog in its earlier years. I looked forever today and could not find it. And then the thought entered my head that I might actually have sold it. I think that is possibly true though it is a bit hard to believe just because it lacked so much accuracy thought not boldness!

Another problem I discovered early on was that I really didn't like the idea of a flattened space, almost design-like portrait of warblers, or really any bird. It sacrificed the bird for what by then to me had become an artistic cliche -- flattened space. That created another problem, what in the world was I supposed to put around the bird to fill up the space? Surely not all the details of surrounding vegetation!!

To make a long story short the recent opportunity via an on-spec commission of two Black-throated Blue Warblers for a wedding present allowed me to see attempt warblers once again but in a more finished work. That work is also above and was finished about a month ago. Also above a brand new field sketch from yesterday of one of a number of Yellow-rumped Warblers that were skittering all around and through some junipers yesterday, trying to escape the wind and also me. Finally a mokuhanga from about 3 years ago which is actually a new version of my very first mokuhanga which in turn was based on a watercolor I made of a briefly overwintering Nashville Warbler in our yard about 10 years ago. It is just one more example of the various ways in which I've tried to portray warblers over the years.


One of the reasons I accepted the commission was that I felt I'd learned a lot about the structure of both birds and warblers over the years and so wanted to see if that knowledge would appear in practice. Yes, to a certain extent. But the watercolor seems a bit overworked in ways, and has lost the sense of freshness that I most value in watercolors. But I also think it is the best finished watercolor I've ever done of warblers and is somewhat true to them. And I have to say the warbler that first set me off on warblers was a male Black-throated Blue warbler that appeared outside our cabin window around Montfair, VA about 20 years ago. So they are always special to me.

Over many years of both looking at warblers and portraying them I've also become much more interested in showing their movement than in showing the color and pattern of their plumage. That is something that I used in the Black-throated Blue Warbler watercolor but it is greatly subdued. All in all I think it will be much less subdued in most of my future work with warblers. Part of the reason is that they are living creatures, not fashion plates.

Common Yellowthroat Sumi Brushpen and Watercolor Sketch. Copyright 2025 by Ken Januski.

Black and White Warbler Sumi Brushpen Field Sketch. Copyright 2025 by Ken Januski

Tennessee Warblers Sketches. Copyright 2025 by Ken Januski.

Tennessee Warblers Sketches. Copyright 2025 by Ken Januski.

Tennesse Warbler Sumi Brushpen and Watercolor Sketch. Copyright 2025 by Ken Januski

Yellow Warbler at URRP Sumi Brushpen and Watercolor Sketch. Copyright 2025 by Ken Januski.

The images above are all from 2025 and are representative of my desire to capture a sense of movement in warblers and also to have a sense of liveliness. Overtime that sense of liveliness has come to dominate all other artistic desires, though with prints there is always the desire for an equally lively composition. Comparing these to the more finished Black-throated Blues at the top these come out on top. They are far more interesting to me, and far truer I think to the experience of seeing warblers. I do hope to return to warblers in mokuhanga hopefully combining something of these with the sense of a finished composition. They may be incompatible but we will just have to see what happens.

In any case I feel more and more confident about using warblers as subjects and will be making the most of the few that I can still see and perhaps sketch from life in the last weeks of possible warblers, at least where I live!

Grabbing a Warbler in Your Hand

Northern Parula at Magee Marsh. Charcoal and Pastel Drawing by Ken Januski.

Northern Parula at Magee Marsh. Pencil Drawing by  Ken Januski.

Northern Parula at Magee Marsh. Pencil Field Sketch by Ken Januski.

Northern Parula at Magee Marsh. Photo by Ken Januski.

I recently spent over a week in the Magee Marsh area of Ohio with my wife. It is a great place to see warblers close up. But after a while you begin to suspect that warblers all have the same song: "click, click, click, clickclickclick". The sound of cameras drowns out the sound of the birds. It is that crowded and everyone seems to have a camera.

It's easy to understand. They are such beautiful birds and only rarely can most people see them so close. So you want to capture them. It's a real temptation, and one I always fall to. But there's something bothersome about 'capturing' them via photography. It can seem a bit aggressive as well as possessive, like an object to be obtained rather than something to enjoy. Drawing them from life is far more difficult than pushing the button on a camera. But it's also far more engaging. So I always plan to do sketches of them from life and eventually I do so. Such sketches are difficult because the birds move so quickly.

At that time it almost seems criminal to reach for the sketchbook. On the other hand it's also the only chance you may ever get to sketch them close up from life. I know that there will be problems with the sketches but I can't resist doing so. Many of them are shown here. I'm also including a number of photos, and also I hope a couple of videos. I think together that they give some sense of the full experience.

Above you see three different representations of a Northern Parula along with a photo.  Sometimes the warblers are so close you could literally reach out and grab them. That certainly was the case for me with Pine, Black-throated Green, Chestnut-sided and Yellow Warblers. They were within my grasp. My thinking here is that though you can almost reach out and grab these warblers any art work based on them ought also to have that quality. The charcoal and pastel drawing at the top, done today two weeks after getting back from Magee, attempts just that. It attempts to capture the experience, not just copy a photo.

Blackburnian Warbler at Magee Marsh. Pencil Field Sketch by Ken Januski.

Blackburnian Warbler at Magee Marsh. Brush Pen and Watercolor Painting by  Ken Januski.

Blackburnian Warbler at Magee Marsh. Photo by Ken Januski.

Above are three representations of the striking Blackburnian Warbler. The first is a field sketch done from life. Often I know that I'll get something wrong, perhaps the shape, more likely some part of their complex feather patterns. But trying to capture them live on paper gets me to see and know them better. If I later do a work based on a photo, as in the brush pen and watercolor painting above, it is much easier to take liberties with the photo, to be less intimidated by its 'reality.''

Below are a few more field sketches as well as photos of many of the other warblers seen at Magee Marsh.

Black-throated Blue Warbler at Magee Marsh. Pencil Field Sketch by Ken Januski.

Black-throated Blue Warbler at Magee Marsh. Photo by Ken Januski.

Black-throated Green Warbler at Magee Marsh. Pencil Field Sketch by Ken Januski.

Black-throated Green Warbler at Magee Marsh. Photo by Ken Januski.

Magnolia Warbler at Magee Marsh. Pencil Field Sketch by Ken Januski.

Magnolia Warbler at Magee Marsh. Photo by Ken Januski.

Nashville Warbler at Magee Marsh. Pencil Field Sketch by  Ken Januski.

Nashville Warbler at Magee Marsh. Photo by Ken Januski.

Chestnut-sided Warbler  at Magee Marsh. Photo by Ken Januski.

Though it is always exciting to see all of these warblers, and many other species, at Magee it often happens that as soon as we get home a bird that we'd gone on vacation specifically to see makes an appearance while we're out birding in Philadelphia. Such was the case with the first Prothonotary Warbler we've ever seen in Philadelphia. I found it less than two miles from home, along the Wissahickon Creek.

He actually stayed around long enough for me to shoot a short video with my camera as well as take a number of photos. One of the reasons I like shooting videos, and only with my camera so the gear is simple, is that I can often get the song along with the bird. For me a bird is not a bird without his  song.

One problem I've had with Prothonotary Warblers is that though they are quite striking visually I find it  difficult to make an interesting painting based on them. I think that this is due to the lack of pattern in their plumage. In any case I used this video as a springboard for my most successful version of a Prothonotary so far.

Prothonotary Warbler at Wissahickon. Brush Pen and Watercolor Painting by Ken Januski.

Prothonotary Warbler  at Magee Marsh. Photo by Ken Januski.

Finally I'd like to add something about the title of this post. When a warbler is close enough to grab in your hand you realize what tiny, fragile creatures they are. I like experiencing this. It helps to take them out of the 'cute' category and actually seem like the living things that they are. It also helps you realize how optics don't necessarily tell the truth about the world, neither through binoculars nor in photos. Things seem large, bold and detailed in both. But it often comes as a surprise to  find out just how small those bold, beautiful warblers really are.

More Warblers, and Birds In Art 2014

Chestnut-sided Warbler and Veery. Field Sketches and Watercolor Sketches by Ken Januski.

There has been a flurry of migrant activity in the last few days, much of it centered around the berries of Devil's Walkingstick. On Wednesday thrushes, mainly Veeries and American Robins, but also one Wood Thrush dominated the early part of mywalk, while warblers and vireos dominated the last part.

Today I started an hour later than usual and found fewer thrushes. But the warblers and vireos were still manically feeding,  some on Devil's Walkingstick but others elsewhere, including a Red-eyed Vireo in the huge and bright red fruit of the Umbrella Magnolia. If  you're alert and doing more than just checking species off a list, now is the time when you can find a lot of interest in what the migrant birds are eating. Spicebush fruit are also popular, as are of course all of the insects on them and other plants.

As I said in last post I really do have enough photos of most species. So I tried to concentrate on looking and sketching today. It was hard as both warblers and vireos were hyperactive. Finally I'd seen enough Chestnut-sided Warblers that I thought I could risk a field sketch from memory as seen at the top of photo above. It was alright but seemed off in ways. So after getting home I looked very briefly at one of my field guides then did the very small watercolor sketch on the bottom of page above.

It's very small but I'm happy with it, though I did mistakenly paint olive green where the white throat should be. I know artists who often do slightly more developed works as soon as they can after getting back from sketching birds in the field. It seems like a good idea, especially if you can use the field sketches as the basis of it and not rely much on photos and guides. I think that help keeps it simple, unified and fresh.  (A day latter and I saw a Veery while out walking. I added a field sketch of it above and then a quick watercolor based on it when I got home, as seen on right hand page above).

Speaking of simple, unified and fresh I received the catalog from Birds in Art today, a show I've been rejected from for about 10 years now. I'm not even sure why I apply any more. And I always have to steel myself to open up the catalog and look at it. I know my reaction will be immediate dislike at the timidity and formulaic quality of much of the work, and stronger dislike at the photographic origins of even more.

I wasn't quite as apprehensive today because I knew that the featured artist, and Master Artist for 2014, is Barry Van Dusen. His  work is simple, unified and fresh, in the best sense of all of those words. And I wasn't disappointed. Such refreshing work and a refreshing essay on his work by artist Darren Rees. I wouldn't be surprised even if a little bit of influence of those watercolors didn't make it into the tiny sketch of the Chestnut-sided Warbler above.

I go nuts when I look at BIA catalogs, wishing that just once I'd find a happy surprise in one of them. I almost never do. There were one or two today, though none that just knocked me over as happened the first time I saw work from The Society of Wildlife Artists. But the work and the essay on the work of Barry Van Dusen certainly brightened my day.

As I've written before I'll continue to look at the catalog and eventually find in looking at the work and in reading what artists have written about their work that I can appreciate far more than I can at first, second and third glance. But I do wish that one day I'd open it up and be knocked off my feet.  I'm definitely not holding my breath.

After I'd finished this I realized that I can sound extremely negative about bird art and Birds in Art. So I thought it made sense to add a bit more about this catalog. There is much competent art in it. That itself is an accomplishment. And I suppose that's why, over time, I find that I can find much to appreciate in each catalog, even if I don't really like it.

But I do like some work and I decided to name artists who struck me right off the bat:

John Busby
James Coe
Peter Elfman
Anne Senechal Faust
Andrew Haslen
Lars Jonssson
Johannes Nevala
Andrea Rich

I should add that I was already fond of all of the above artists with the exception of Johannes Nevala. I was newly struck by him. If I wasn't already familiar with the others I'm sure at least some of them would have knocked me over. The Andrea Rich woodcut was the opposite in that it grows on me each time I look at it. Some of this is very rich work.

There were some others who are not as much to my taste perhaps but whose qualities I can't and wouldn't want to deny. They are striking in their own way:

William Althier
Robert Bateman
Jim Bortz
Kathleen Dunphy
Cindy House
James Morgan
Sean Murtha
Peter Nilsson
Thomas Quinn
Maynard Reece(pretty bold for 94!)
Chirag V. Thumbar
Sherrie York

I haven't mentioned sculpture mainly because I'm not as familiar with it. In general though I find that  I like it more than much of the two dimensional art. I'm not sure why that is but I wouldn't be surprised if it's because it seems more direct and less mediated by the numbness of photography. Certainly there is far more abstraction in the sculpture than in the two dimensional work and this seems true year after year.

In naming names like this I know that anyone who reads this and happens to be in the show might be disappointed especially if I don't mention them, though most will have no idea who I am, nor care. As I said most of the work is competent. And in a week I'm sure I could add many more artists to the second group. Perhaps even in 15 minutes after posting this.

Perhaps this year's show is better than average.  I do find that I seem to like more and am pulling my hair out about less. But I do wish I'd find more exciting work. Perhaps that is asking too much, particularly given the stranglehold that photography has had on American wildlife art for so long.

The Warblers of May, in Philadelphia, in Watercolor

Northern Parula at Carpenters Woods. Watercolor Sketch by Ken Januski.

Ovenbird at Carpenters Woods. Watercolor Sketch by Ken Januski.

May passed by in such a flurry of activity that, just like an eventful vacation, it seemed undigested. Like a good meal that was eaten in such a hurry that only afterwards do you actually enjoy it.

Such was the case as I looked through some of my photos from May. Such good looks at Worm-eating, Hooded, Prairie and Northern Parula Warblers as well as Ovenbirds and waterthrushes. Since I spent so much time trying to sketch them it's doubly surprising to see how many good photos I got.

I'd like to recommend the place where I saw them, an Important Bird Area called Carpenters Woods, only a couple of miles from our house. The reason I don't recommend it and don't visit much except in May and perhaps September is that there are so many loose dogs, even though it is illegal to have them in Fairmount Park, of which Carpenters Woods is part, without a leash. By May I'm so angry with anger at the dogs and their owners that I no longer enjoy being there. This battle, between birders and dog owners, is playing out across the U.S. When we first visited Carpenters Woods about 20 years ago we ran into a co-worker. When she saw we were birding she asked if we were familiar with the conflict between dog owners and birders. We weren't and were surprised by the question. Now it's all we think of when we visit.

But if you don't mind dogs running loose, scaring up rare birds, and perhaps ruining their nesting attempts then it's a great place to bird. It's been known for years as such and has, as best I can tell, declined tremendously over the last 10-20 years. But I say this only from hearsay not experience. Though we birded there 20 years ago we were too inexperienced to appreciate what was or wasn't there. This year though it seemed as full of birds as the far better known Magee Marsh of Ohio. I know it wasn't but if it seemed like it then who can complain?

In any case I was surprised to see what nice photos I had of some Northern Parulas, a beautiful bird that we see often but of which I have next to no photos. Nor very usable field sketches. Given the number of good photos I couldn't resist the watercolor sketch above, again in a Stillman and Birn 7x10 Gamma Sketchbook. My intent more than anything else was to get a sense of its striking colors as well as its pose.

Ovenbirds were incredibly visible this spring, both at Carpenters Woods and elsewhere. They are a thoroughly endearing bird, perhaps due to their cuteness, perhaps not. In any case we saw very many and I couldn't resist another watercolor sketch in the Gamma sketchbook. Luckily this year we've continued to see them in Philadelphia through the month of June. So though I've heard second-hand reports of a decline in breeding birds in Philadelphia, reports I've never really investigated, we're happy to report that at least some have stayed for the summer and most likely bred.

Eventually I'll get back to printmaking but for now I feel like trying to improve my skills at watercolor.

Continuing the Warbler Travelogue

American Redstart, Ovenbird, Black and White Warblers, et al. Field Sketches by Ken Januski.

A number of years ago I showed a group of sketches like these on the Wildlife Art section of Birdforum. One person responded that they were a wonderful travelogue. In a sense that is true. Some people use the term field sketch to refer to a more considered study of one particular species. I don't and call any sketches I do in the field field sketches.

But it is also accurate to call them a travelogue, as they illustrate what I've seen in my travels. Often they do actually involve travel, but these are all based on birds seen over the last few days within five miles of my home in Philadelphia. They are a very local travelogue.

Above are: my first Green Heron of the year in flight, an American Redstart, a Black-throated Blue warbler all on the left side. And on the right: a Hermit Thrush, Ovenbird, Common Yellowthroat and Black and White Warbler.

Part of my process here is illustrated by the Black and White Warbler. There is something off with it. Often when something is wrong it will involve staring at the bird, trying to then old all the information in my memory and then putting it down. Inevitably I'll forget part of the info, in this case the fact that I could see some of the stripes on the mantle of the warbler. In my drawing I have the coverts going too high up, completely obscuring the mantle. With a complexly feathered bird like a Black and White Warbler it can take awhile to understand how all these markings fit together into a recognizable pattern.

Unlike David Sibley who said he first tried to get shape and pose right in his work and could pick up feather detail from photos I like to have some sense of where the markings are. I'm not at all sure that this is wise on my part. Getting the shape right is probably more important. But I can't see leaving out all pattern and then adding it in later from photos. I'd like to make at least some attempt in the sketch.

Inevitably something will be wrong. But it's only in getting it wrong that I'm likely to remember this and get it right the next time.

Baltimore Oriole, Eastern Kingbird, et al. Field Sketches by Ken Januski.

A common piece of advice for field sketches is to avoid putting in what you haven't seen or remembered. Again this is very hard to do. In the sketches above I tried to remember where the legs were on the Veery in the upper left. As you can see I struggled and struggled. So it makes the drawing looks clumsy and wrong. But it will remind me to pay more attention next time I see a Veery, thrush or in fact any bird. Below is a Baltimore Oriole, with an Eastern Kingbird and Common Yellowthroat on the right side.

As I drew the kingbird I had the feeling that the tail extended just a short distance beyond the undertail coverts. But I knew that they have long tails so I made it long. I also happened to take some photos. They prove that I should have trusted my visual memory: the tail is actually very short due to the length of the undertail coverts. I tried to fix this by adding some white chalk to shorten the tail.

Black-throated Green Warbler. Photo by Ken Januski.

I didn't plan on taking any photos today and wanted to force myself to sketch. I largely followed that plan until I saw a Wood Thrush in a standing position. I got out the camera so that I could compare him standing to his two relatives the Hermit Thrush and the Veery. And of course he flew before I could take a photo.

But the camera was out as I continued to bird and to sketch. When a Black-throated Green Warbler landed just a few feet away I got this photo. It is nice to see all the detail. But it also reminds me of the danger of photos. If this were at a larger scale you'd be better able to see all the subtlety of the markings. That's the problem.

I think it's actually a problem of knowledge and the limiting effect of knowledge. Once you see all those details it's hard to ignore them if you're an artist. The end result I think is a type of hyper-realistic bird art that has become fixated, willfully or not, on photographic detail and loses all sense of the other aspects of the bird, including the ones that make it seem most alive.

I've written about this before so I won't repeat myself. But I thought the juxtaposition of detailed photo and field sketches that are full of mistakes was a strong one. And you well know I'd guess which I prefer.

A Few More Warblers And Such

Hooded Warbler at Carpenters Woods. Photo by Ken Januski.

I had really planned on not taking any more warbler photos. But when we found a cooperative Hooded Warbler at Carpenters Woods in Philadelphia yesterday I had to try to get some photos, mainly just to document that we'd really seen him. They do breed throughout the rest of Pennsylvania but I believe that this is the first we have seen in the state.

Actually we saw it in three different locations at Carpenters Woods so it's possible that there was more than one. Today we saw what was undoubtedly a different one since it was about 5 miles away at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education. Oddly enough it was in the open with a Veery, Eastern Bluebird and Ovenbird, a very nice collection of very visible birds.

Though warblers have been visible in extraordinary numbers at Carpenters Woods this week we skipped it to bird SCEE. The main reason for this, outside of avoiding weekend crowds, is that we are covering SCEE next weekend for the Pennsylvania Migratory Bird Count. So we wanted to do some scouting of the area today. We did! 6.5 hours and we still missed much of it.

Blue-winged Warbler at Schuylkill Center. Photo by Ken Januski.

One of the best warblers we did see, outside of the second Hooded Warbler, was the Blue-winged Warbler pictured above. We re getting used to seeing them hidden in the blooms of Crabapple trees. That is the tree pictured above, though most of the blossoms have been cropped out. It is quite a scene though, the bright yellow of the warbler against the brilliant white of the crabapple blossoms.

Ovenbird at Carpenters Woods. Photo by Ken Januski.

One of the most visible warblers of the last few days has been the Ovenbird, an often maddeningly secretive species, though it is also an extremely loud species. I have many Ovenbird photos. But when they stroll so close to you, seemingly oblivious, it is hard to resist one more photo. I normally wouldn't show it but I needed something new to add to the two warbler photos above. And most of the other photos I've taken over last few days have been of warblers portrayed in the last post.

Scarlet Tanager at Schuylkill Center. Photo by Ken Januski.

Finally a non-warbler species: the Scarlet Tanager. How is it possible to miss this brilliant bird, especially given its loud distinctive call? Yet it is in fact a bird that's hard to find. The bird pictured above is the first we've seen this year.

We also saw our first of year Baltimore and Orchard Orioles today at SCEE but I've taken too many Baltimore Oriole photos to be lured into taking any more.

Outside of taking photos for documentation purposes I'll spend the rest of the migration of 2014 doing sketches rather than taking photos. I promise!

Welcome Warblers - 2014

Black-throated Green Warbler at Carpenters Woods. Photo by Ken Januski.

I almost feel like I'm on the boardwalk at Magee Marsh in Ohio in May. So many warblers all over the place that only an iron will can get me to sketch birds and not try to photograph them. The birds were not nearly that numerous nor that close today but they were low and many of them were new.

My iron will went out the window and I ended up taking photos rather than sketching. I need to get back into practice with sketching them. The photo above seemed an appropriate one for anybody who's been waiting to see warblers. The pose has a sense of exuberance similar I think to that of birders when they first see warblers in spring.

All but the final Pine Warbler were birds I saw today. After a day and night of rain warmer temperatures moved in and seemed to bring these warblers, along with thrushes and other migrants. The rain kept the insects low I think and that kept the birds low Most were at eye level.

American Redstart at Kitchens Lane Bridge. Photo by Ken Jauski.

 

For all the American Redstarts I've seen over the years I rarely get a decent photo. This is one of the better ones.

Black and White Warbler along Wissahickon. Photo by Ken Januski.

Outside of Yellow-rumps by far the most common bird today was the Black and White Warbler. I'm sure I saw at least 20. This is one in a somewhat unusual pose.

Black-throated Blue Warbler at Carpenters Woods. Photo by Ken Januski.

We see the Black-throated Blue far more often in fall than spring here so it was nice to get such a good look at two beautiful males today, singing as well, just like the Black-throated Green.

Northern Parula at Carpenters Woods. Photos by Ken Januski.

One of the most beautiful warblers is the Northern Parula. But it also is a bird I rarely get good photos of. Today two of them cooperated by staying nice and low, rarely above eye level.

Yellow-rumped Warbler at Carpenters Woods. Photo by Ken Januski.

The Yellow-rump of course is the warbler that can't get any respect, only because it is so common. But if you can forget about that it is one of the most beautiful warblers, especially in spring.

Pine Warbler at Wissahickon. Photo by Ken Januski.

The Pine Warbler is another one that I rarely get good photos of. This one is from a week ago. But it is such a striking bird that I decided to include it with all of the beautiful warblers from today.

One other warbler that I saw today and heard at least three times was an Ovenbird. I also saw one the other day. But when I bird I'm not fixated on photography. So by the time I thought about taking a photo of him he had strolled away, as they do. That's okay. Next time I'll focus on what he looks like and get back to sketching these very welcome birds.

Other first of year birds today were Veeries and one Wood Thrush. As always its also great to welcome them back.

Black-throated Green Warbler Lino/Woodcut/Reduction Lino

Black-throated Green Warbler. Linocut/Woodcut/Reduction Linocut by Ken Januski.

It always amazes me how long it takes from start to finish on a small color linocut. In this case it's been almost two weeks, and as with most art the end is the hardest. It's when a small mistake can seem to ruin all the previous work. At the same time the work starts to pull together and you can see the end in sight. That can make it exciting in a good way.

This is the final version of the combination linocut, reduction linocut and woodblock, three different blocks treated somewhat differently. It's a bit subdued for me and it will take awhile for me to decide if I like that.

The final edition is 20, printed by hand with Gamblin oil-based inks on Rives Heavyweight paper. The entire print is 7x9 inches and the image alone is 4x6. It is for sale at my Etsy store listed on the right side of this blog.

One thing I'm happy with is the use of line in the print. I wanted to use the final black block to pull the print together, as well as represent much of the warbler. But I didn't want it to look like an outline, almost like a cartoon. Some people use this well but I knew that I wouldn't. So this is a compromise and an experiment. It's the first time I've used a master block. I'm not sure I'll use it again but I think I will. It does offer some new possibilities.

A Democracy of Birders

Bay-breasted Warbler and other birds. Field sketch by Ken Januski.

American Redstart and other birds. Field sketch by Ken Januski.

 

Horned Lark and other birds. Field sketch by Ken Januski.

 



Magnolia Warbler and other birds. Field sketch by Ken Januski.

 

Prothonotary Warbler and other birds. Field sketch by Ken Januski.

 

I had a hard time deciding on a title for this post about field sketches of birds seen at Magee Marsh in Ohio last week. The most notable thing I think for just about anyone who was there was the number of birds, though there was in fact one very quiet day. For me the high point might have been when a woman who had wandered up to watch me sketch a Blackburnian Warbler from life said something like "You've made my day. This is even better than the birds, especially with all these cameras." What she meant I think was how refreshing it was to see someone sketching and by inference interacting with the birds amidst all the people with their cameras, and whirring motor drives, and flashes, and big lenses, and big tripods.

Since I value field sketching so highly it was easy to make that the title of this post. Instead though I chose "A Democracy of Birders." I did this because I think it is interesting philosophically. It is very easy to get frustrated at Magee Marsh this time of year, perhaps even more so during The Biggest Week in American Birding , an organized event that has gone on for about the last 10 days there. It surely adds to the crowds.

Between rude and oblivious photographers who think nothing of plunking their huge tripods in the middle of the boardwalk and then planting their 200 plus pound selves behind them so that no one can get through and drivers who have to stop for every Canada gosling on the causeway to the boardwalk turning each two minute trip into at least a ten minute trip it's easy to get frustrated. But I think most people feel it's well worth the frustrations because of the wealth of birds to be seen, most at such close range that most people can only dream about.

If you listen to the conversations you soon realize that the level of skill and experience is almost infinite, from the most expert to the most beginning and everywhere in between. And as far as I can tell the excitement and joy of seeing so many birds so close, most of them neo-tropical migrants, makes up for everything else. Barriers between old-style birders and technology-loving birders, experienced and inexperienced birders seem to disappear, or at least be greatly sublimated, in the experience of seeing so many striking birds in so many numbers and at such close proximity.

So that's the nature of the title. The last week, The Biggest Week in American Birding, really did show a democracy of birders, a democracy in all its varied and sometimes uncomfortable or even unwelcome( I'm thinking of big lenses and tripods when I say this) diversity.

The diversity of birds however was as welcome as could be. So from the top I'll enumerate the birds portrayed. They are only some of the many we saw.

Page one: Blue-winged Warbler and Yellow-throated Vireo, actually seen here before the trip, and a Bay-breasted Warbler on left and a Nashville Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler and American Woodcock on right.

Page two: Red-eyed Vireo, and a distant sparrow viewed through scope and finally identified as the familiar Swamp Sparrow on left, and male American Redstart, Rose-breasted Grosbeak and head of an American Woodcock on right.

Page three: singing Yellow Warbler and subtly beautiful Warbling Vireo on left and Horned Lark and Least Sandpiper on right.

Page four: Least Flycatcher, Magnolia Warbler and horrible rendering of Sandhill Crane in flight on left and Black-throated Blue Warbler and Ovenbird on right.

Finally on page five: Black-throated Green Warbler and Northern Parula on left and Blackburnian Warbler and Prothonotary Warbler on the right.

Given the plethora of some of the world's most beautiful birds all within close range it's hard to know what to do: enjoy them, soak them in, keep staring trying to capture all that's there in your memory, take photos, sketch. Though I've always tried to do field sketches when you have this seemingly once in a lifetime opportunity it's easy to try to preserve it in film. I'm sure that explains much of the sense of camera-driven birders. But my own experience is that the results are always lacking in emotional resonance. Even on this trip I succumbed to taking quite a few photos. But when I did I was no longer engaged with the bird.

To get around this I started off each day sketching. Only when I'd done a satisfactory sketch or felt it was such a rare view of a bird did I take the camera out of its case and start shooting. For myself I have to say it's been tremendously satisfying not just to see these birds but also have these sketches of them. I just wish I could stay there for a month or so to truly do them justice.