Dear Everyone ~
I am delighted to report that my freshest parcel from James Winrow arrived last week, speedier than a sparrow. It contained his newest selection of avian-inspired postcards, and I am aswoon. James had told me about the cardstock that he selected to print on, and I was so eager to hold the cards, a bird in the hand, so to speak. And, natch, to try writing on one. The stock is heavenly heavy (300 gsm) and slightly toothy.
The set includes four different studies from James’s sketchbook pages, with delightful details on the back: the bird’s common name, its Latin name, where he spotted it, and when he sketched it. The cards depict rock pipits, dippers, and purple sandpipers in two settings.
I now have a trio of lovely order-accompanying notes from James, each with a small feather affixed: a snipe, a teal, and a red-legged partridge! They are the beginning of my Winrow collection.
Upon seeing Jame’s postcards in person, I was quite curious about his creative process. I sent word to ask him if he wouldn’t mind sharing a sentence or two, or three, about how he works in his sketchbooks, and he graciously replied in fluid detail:
“All my finished drawings start life in the sketchbook. Some are done in the field whilst observing, and others back at the studio from photographic reference and memory. The sketchbook is where I learn the finer points of the form of the bird—the geometry and shape. I spend time making outlines and impressions, then more detailed sketches of the head and wing. This is when I start to build a rapport with the bird—you begin to see the intricacies and details in its shape, the adaptations of its beak, wing, and body that make it unique. The character of the subject also begins to form through these musings, and ultimately the finished drawing coalesces from this sketchbook time.”
James added, “Paperwise, I use Strathmore Toned Tan or Grey. It’s the best! You can use white pencil or pastel to create highlights on it, and the softer tone somehow enables me to sketch more freely than normal. I find the frank starkness of white to be quite rigid sometimes, which is great for finished highly detailed pieces, but not sketches. But that’s just me!”
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New drawing pens, in four different point sizes, are now stocked in the shop. I've demo’d the widths on one of Jame’s postcards. They glide smoothly, evenly & consistently. These fineliner drawing pens are by Winsor & Newton, and I learned about them from Cat Bennett, who introduced us to them during our last Bookful workshop. I was intensely curious to try them, and I’ve enjoyed writing with them ever since.
Postcards by Nature Artist James Winrow
Winsor & Newton drawing pens
Toodle-pip, Bari
PS:
Speaking of Bookful, Cat B & I have finished planning our next Bookful adventure, and we will be announcing that soon. Hint: It has something to do with Summer, and it starts in June. (And, yes, we are both over the moon.)