Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Pugnacious

8/25/15 Koh-i-Noor Tri-Tone colored pencils,
Cretacolor Nero pencil, ink

(sketched from calendar photo)
With all my travel this month, I’m busier than usual with work this week, trying to catch up (or keep ahead). The smoky air from the wildfires has finally cleared, so it was very tempting to sneak out for a sketch, but I resisted.

Instead, I took a 15-minute break to sketch another hummingbird from my World Wildlife Fund calendar. Its tiny wings and tail are beating so fast in the photo that they are a mere blur. The chestnut-breasted coronet, says the calendar, “defends its feeding territory pugnaciously.” I’ve seen nature programs confirming that hummers, sweet and delicate as they may appear, are vicious fighters. In fact, I’ve seen evidence of that myself among the few hummers we occasionally see from our backyard.

Sketching it was a good break. I felt invigorated by its pugnacious energy. 

2 comments:

  1. I love hummingbirds! Glad you found something good to sketch for a break. Nice!

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  2. For such a delicate looking creature, the pugnacious nature of this hummingbird is so unexpected. But I love that title. Even though it comes equipped with its own little fencing foil, this bird zips back and forth like the pugilistic character you describe. Somehow even the angle of the neck seems aggressive. Nicely done!

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