Finished Mallard

Here she is, finally finished my female mallard duck. In the past few days I finished her feathers and add some background so she isn't floating in space. I deliberately left the background a bit blurry, not only because it is in the photograph but because I want her to be the center of attention. She about 8 x 5.5 inches, done with graphite on Stonehenge paper.

I don't think I need to add that I am pleased with the final result. I am sure there are some errors, but at this point I am not going to go looking for them.

Above is my Nature Journal page from a visit to Daniel Webster the last week of September.

Top image is of a Sensitive Fern frond. I see quite a bit of this type of fern along one of the paths, though mostly on a northern edge where it wouldn't get a lot of direct sun. From what I have read it is called a sensitive fern because it is sensitive to cold and will be killed by the first frost, even last week some of them were starting to look a bit ragged.

Next image is my stand-by tree stump showing how low the water had dropped in the pond by that Monday. It was higher this past week, and I expect to see the water even higher next week since we have had more rain.

The lower image does't read as well as I would have liked. It is showing two white tailed deer heading for the trees. I had caught a glimpse of them through the trees earlier on my walk and when I finally walked out into one of the fields I startled them and they took off. Two does, I think, at least not mature males, no antlers, their white tails and white rumps really flash when seen from behind.

Above is my figure drawing from Monday. Model was a bit twitchy and had a difficulty (it got painful) holding her left arm in the position she started with so I am not pleased with how it came out. I didn't realize in the first session that it was going to be an issue and didn't get it defined as well as I could have at that point. During the rest of the evening she didn't quite recapture that position so I had to more or less wing it, and it shows. Also her dark hair almost makes it look separate from her body, not a look that I was trying to achieve.

For today's two photographs the one above is a close up of a dragonfly photographed at Oak Knoll. I observed last year, but am really noticing this year that the late summer/fall dragonflies are mostly red. I am sure it is one specific species but so far I haven't taken the time to do any research on them.

Last photo is from Daniel Webster, an image of the open fields surrounded by trees. The trees are only showing a bare hint of color here and there. That Monday was a partly cloudy day with some dramatic clouds appearing off and on in the blue sky.

That is it for today, per usual comments are welcome.