Easily Distracted By Birds
A month of drawing birds for Birdtober.
The other night I was working at my desk and heard my daughter over my shoulder, "Why are you drawing so many birds?"
I do like drawing birds and draw them often in my sketchbook. I’m even working on a new picture book that highlights bird sounds! But the month of October is also Birdtober, created by Andrea Holmes, which stemmed from Inktober. If you have not heard of Inktober, it’s a month long drawing challenge where you use traditional black ink (pen or brush) and draw from a prompt list, created by Jake Parker. Many other prompt lists have stemmed from this idea over the years. Sometimes artists don’t even use ink. It’s an excuse to focus on a consistent body of work for one month, or to try something new. I’ve been posting my works on my Instagram account. I started with black ink only, and then added watercolor but have switched to only black ink because I love the contrast.
Every year I say that I’m going to start early, and make some of the work and social media posts ahead of time so that I’m not overwhelmed trying to work on other projects, plus a prompt list. It never happens. Other things come up and before I know it, it’s October. My daughter’s birthday is this month, along with one of my best friends and SO MANY events. I feel like this month has flown by! It’s so fun though. I love the spooky season and look forward to it every year.
I think that’s why I’m so drawn to the idea of drawing in ink, specifically black and white. What is it about the stark contrast of black India or Sumi Ink and white paper? It’s just so magical and atmospheric. This mockingbird pose is one of my favorites.
I’ve done a handful of bird ink drawings for Birdtober and I’ll continue to draw as many as I can and share on my Instagram page until October 31. I would love to complete a prompt list one year but this is not the year. LOL. What about you? Are you participating in Inktober this year? Or other prompt lists? I’ll leave you with the kingfisher. Look at that determination. I love the patterned white spots against the dark feathers. She’s a hunter.
Check out my Instagram for a few process videos and you can see how I start these paintings for Birdtober. Thank you for reading my first post on substack!
