Two Stuffed Birds

Today I did something new and sketched stuffed birds. The San Diego Watercolor Society created several still life compositions featuring birds and invited members to come by for a few hours.

I expected that since stuffed birds are unable to fly away in the middle of a sketch, that it would not be as difficult as drawing birds out in their habitats. However, I found that the closer I looked at the birds, the more I noticed what was lacking in my drawing. This is the best of the three I did today, and as you can see, I have a lot to learn. I used pastel and gouache.