Spruce grouse

My latest graphite effort is of a Spruce grouse. This is a game bird with a mastery of camouflage, ie very complex patterns which presents a challenge so I thought it fitting to complement this finery by setting the bird in a fairly busy backdrop.
It was a bit tricky to get a balance as I didn't want to 'loose' the bird but at the same time I wanted to demonstrate the marriage between the plumage and the environment.
 Size 38x31cm on Fabriano hot press watercolour paper.

Cheeky monkey's

Young animals always have the 'ah' factor and this pair of 'cheeky monkey's' are no exception.
Executed in graphite on Fabriano 5 hot press paper, the original background was too dark and didn't work at all. It looked like a candidate for the drawer destined to be forgotten forever, so it was a make or break decision to knock it back with some extensive 'blue tack' work which saved it completely and is now a fully framed member of the collection for a future exhibition.