Saturday

Camels and Macaws at the Discovery Zoo


Camels seem to be in perpetual motion, so a portrait attempt was no easy feat. Not only do their heads move continually from side to side, but also from ground level to about nine feet in the air! I'd wait patiently, popping in a couple of lines each time he looked straight at me.

The pair of macaws was a riot. In spite of the fact that the zoo owner kept putting them up on their tree stand, their will proved stronger. With clipped wings, they waddled around wherever they pleased, occasionally flying up to a low perch. They were especially interested in watching me sketch the camels. One came over and literally sat by my feet almost the entire time, saying "Mama". I figured they were waiting for their turn to be sketched. I did a few quick watercolor gesture sketches of each of them. Here's a photo of one of them with the sketches:


Materials
Camel sketch: 0.5 Platinum Preppy fountain pen filled with Private Reserve Velvet Black, washed with a waterbrush
Macaws: Sakura Koi watercolors and waterbrush
Sketchbook: Stillman & Birn Delta
Borders: Golden Fluid Acrylics and F&W Acrylic Inks

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