These are sketches of teal between September and January.
These small, fast flying ducks that jinx and jive in flight are fascinating. Their teal green wing bars shimmer in the winter sunlight, though even on a grey day they don’t disappoint.
I love watching teal on the wing. It would be much easier to sketch them at rest or floating serenely. Though it is in flight that I find them most exciting.
I don’t feel that I have successfully captured the essence of speed yet. Whether or not I will ever be able to convey that on paper is debatable but I will keep trying.
I enjoyed making this January sketch of teal passing Denny Island.
I remember watching the cargo vessel Heluan passing Chapel Pill. The colours of her containers matched the September hues of the salt marsh grass. The teal zigzagged their way down the pill following the water course.
To see hundreds of teal on the wing is a joy but also a challenge to sketch.
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Iridescent Teal and the Vecht Trader
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