Mostly Birds

6/1/16 ink (ring-tailed lemurs)

Greg and I both wanted to see the new baby gorilla at Woodland Park Zoo, but when we got there, we learned that her public appearance had been rescheduled for next week. I didn’t mind, though, because it was a lovely afternoon for strolling through the zoo.

The only mammals I sketched today were a black and white colobus (with an amazing, yard-long white tail) and a few ring-tailed lemurs. A lemur keeper was talking about them as we approached, and we heard about things they like to eat – kale, Romaine lettuce and especially fruits.

Birds got a lot more of my attention on this trip, and the ones in the tropical conservation aviary are my favorites. Extremely colorful and exotic, most are rare and endangered. Several years ago I sketched the Nicobar pigeon with its iridescent rainbow-colored feathers, but it was way beyond my watercolor capabilities to capture all those beautiful hues. Today I tried colored pencils with not much more success, but I still enjoyed trying.

6/1/16 brush pen (black and white colobus)

The flamingos were squabbling and dozing as usual. I think I sketch them every time I pass through that side of the zoo – who can resist all that pink?

On the way out we passed the penguins, where I spotted a frequent interloper: a neighborhood heron that likes to take advantage of the penguins’ food. I guess the penguins don’t protest – the heron is bigger by quite a bit.

6/1/16 colored pencils (Nicobar pigeon)

6/1/16 colored pencils (wood duck)

6/1/16 ink, colored pencils (Chilean flamingos)

6/1/16 ink, colored pencil (Chilean flamingo)

6/1/16 colored pencils (vulturine guineafowl)

6/1/16 brush pen, white gel pen (heron)