“The contrast between silent cliffs and restless water offer powerful pictorial dynamics for an artist, as do the changes of light and shade and the air full of circling birds. The cliffs are a frontier between us and the horizon – to the seabirds, they are a necessary foothold on which to nest; a vertical […]
Birds
Wet weather wagtails
Here’s little ‘trotty’ wagtail who went in the rain, according to the poem by John Clare, the 19th Century poet known for his celebration of the English countryside. The Pied Wagtail is a highly distinctive black and white bird with a strutting walk and a tail constantly moving up and down. It’s ‘tittering, tottering’ motion […]
Birds in your Garden
This delightful book (published 1989 and currently available very cheaply on the secondhand book market) is full of wonderful illustrations by John, many in full colour. It takes you through a whole year in your garden with ideas for how to attract more birds, and how to understand their behaviour – tips as relevant now […]
Beautiful Cranes
Thank you to the International Crane Foundation and the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum for featuring John on their latest webinar Cranes and Artists – a creative dance. Available to view on the ICF YouTube channel here. In his book Lines from Nature John wrote, ” At Hornborgasjon… is one of the great bird events […]
Quiet reflections
A Little Grebe paddles purposefully on a still lake. The bow-wave and wake reflect the light still in the evening sky. This is one of several similar pictures we still have capturing quiet moments on still water. The depiction of movement and stillness is quite special in my mind. John himself said, “Water puts all […]
Who are you looking at?
Gulls are known as bold creatures and the bane of many tourist hot-spots. This one is certainly giving us a hard stare, he may be about to fly off, but he’ll be back! Most birds are more wary, peering out from behind rocks, or deep inside vegetation, pictures may not show much of the physical […]
Fairy Tern
A delicate all-white Fairy Tern (Gygis alba) flies in an azure sky, somewhere over the Seychelles or Aldabra atoll. Bright sunlight makes its wings almost transparent. £130, 11 x 20 cm in A4 mount These little birds are relatively common across the tropical oceans of the world despite their daft parenting practices. The female lays […]
Chiffchaff, The Proud Songster
This little illustration was labelled “Proud Songster” and while not specifically mentioned in the poem of the same name by Thomas Hardy, John obviously felt that this Chiffchaff was doing its bit to fill our days with birdsong. Pen and wash drawing 13 x 11cm For sale as part of the #artistsupportpledge £100 buy now […]
See the Wind
What a wind today! Only a few birds spotted while out walking and those keeping close to the ground. It’s not easy to depict the wind on paper but here’s a windy bird picture of Lapwing and Ringed plovers in a strong wind by the Master Wildlife Artist, John Busby. In his book Looking at […]
Birdwatching 75 years ago
Anyone in or around Menston, Yorks, like to re-create this birdwatching walk? It is part of a larger map drawn by John as a teenager in the late 1940’s. Swallows, cuckoos, linnets, willow warblers, skylarks all there then. What would we find today? See original post here