In May 2021, Trinidad and Tobago found itself once again in strict lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With fieldtrips and gatherings postponed indefinitely, and most of our members stuck at home, the TTFNC Art Group’s response was to host an online ‘Draw-along’ on Sunday the 9th May 2021, led by the talented and acclaimed wildlife artist Edward Rooks.
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At midday, one hundred people joined us live via Zoom and Facebook Live as Edward talked us through some simple steps towards drawing three of T&T’s best-loved birds: a bananaquit, a scarlet ibis and a white-necked jacobin. Using only the simplest of materials – paper and pencil – and beginning with basic shapes, Edward showed us how a little anatomical knowledge could transform these shapes into well-proportioned, life-like portrayals.
Here and there, Edward used the three examples as a starting point to elaborate on how to draw bird feet, beaks, wings and tails, including lessons that could be applied to the drawing of most bird species.
After the session, it was exciting to receive photos of people’s sketches and see how beautifully they had turned out, and particularly nice to find out that children as well as adults had been taking part. Some people had even added some colour to their pencil sketches, to dramatic effect.
The Art Group is hugely grateful to Edward for sharing his time and expertise so generously – and especially for allowing us to post the recording on our Facebook page so that we could reach even more people looking for something fun, safe and productive to do during lockdown. At the time of writing the recording has been viewed nearly 2,000 times!
Thanks to everyone who took part, whether live or in your own time afterwards. The recording is still available on the TTFNC facebook page (and embedded at the top of this post!), so please do check it out if you didn’t get a chance yet.