Creating a dynamic series of mixed media artwork combining sketching, watercolor and photography. Recent artwork focuses on the birds of Mount Baker neighborhood, located in south Seattle, next to Lake Washington. Raptors, waterbirds and backyard birds are featured in digital montages.
Backstory
While taking a nature walk with my dog, Chester, I was thinking about a simple way to display an osprey sketch. The ink artwork was created for a new coloring book for my mum.
When I reached the lake – to relax and take in the view – I was inspired by the beautiful scene. Watching the waves roll in sparked the idea to overlay my bird artwork on a background photo. So, naturally I used my iPhone to capture pictures of waves to use as backdrop for the bird sketch. Maybe this idea could actually work.
Upon returning to my studio, I digitized the osprey sketch, downloaded the lake photos, and started playing around with an overlay using Photoshop. It took about 10 minutes to make the final composite image – after adjusting the image contrast and scaling the osprey drawing. That day, I shared the artwork on Instagram and got some really positive comments from artists. Several artists really liked the idea.
For now, I am calling this mixed media series Art in Nature.
Here’s my original blog post in January 2023.
Osprey flying at Lake Washington
The osprey, also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than 60 cm in length and 180 cm across the wings. It is brown on the upperparts and white below. Wikipedia
Sharp claws or talons help osprey snatch fish out of the water.
I developed a new way to display my artwork in nature. The Osprey is one of the first digital composite images that I shared. Inspired by a dog walk to Lake Washington where I often spot raptors flying and fishing.
Over the past two months, I have captured reference photos in the local park and combined different bird photos.
Refining the montage technique
For a few weeks, I worked on creating art using ink and colored pencils. I learned a lot about coloring techniques, but had limited time and supplies. Hand coloring is a fun challenge but very time intensive – taking 2 to 4x as long as painting. Below is one of my favorite bird sketches using ink and colored pencils.
Common Goldeneye in colored pencil
The common goldeneye or simply goldeneye is a medium-sized sea duck of the genus Bucephala, the goldeneyes. Its closest relative is the similar Barrow’s goldeneye. The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek boukephalos, a reference to the bulbous head shape of the bufflehead. Wikipedia
Scientific name: Bucephala clangula
Digital Montage Technique: Creating sketches and photo compositions to make the artwork standout. The original ink sketch was printed and colored with pencils — next the art was digitized and overlaid on a nature photo to create a beautiful composite image. This is a fun technique that I am currently refining.
Reference photo of the duck by Alan Wilson, Canada.
Watercolor artwork
Painting birds in watercolor is quicker and more fun for me. I like the process of mixing colors and layering paints.
Northern Shoveler male in watercolor
Art in Nature series – original watercolor painting overlaid on a nature photo.
Northern Shovelers swim through wetlands, often with their bills down in the water, swinging them side to side to filter out tiny crustacean prey. I observed this feeding behavior while watching a group of shovelers swimming in a V pattern. It’s an amazing sight to see.
Scientific name: Spatula clypeata
Reference photo by Alan Wilson, NaturesPicsOnline.com
Spotted Towhee – Forest Montage
Male Spotted Towhees have jet-black upperparts and throat; their wings and back are spotted bright white. The flanks are warm rufous and the belly is white. Typically, I watch Towhees foraging on the understory or ground of a forest.
Towhees often are spotted alone under vegetation near the rhododendron or western red cedar in our backyard.
Forest photo by TFK. Reference photo by Elaine Wilson, Canada
Yellow-rumped Warbler
The Yellow-rumped Warbler is the only warbler able to digest the waxes found in bayberries and wax myrtles. Its ability to use these fruits allows it to winter farther north than other warblers, sometimes as far north as Newfoundland. Male Yellow-rumped Warblers tend to forage higher in trees than females do. (All About Birds)
Yellow-rumped Warblers visit our backyard daily, hovering around the suet and seed feeders.
Forest photo by TFK. Reference photo by Alan Wilson, Canada
Brown Creeper clinging to a cedar tree
Brown Creepers are tiny woodland birds with an affinity for the biggest trees they can find. In the breeding season, Brown Creepers eat insects and their larvae along with spiders, spider eggs, and pseudoscorpions. (All About Birds)
Scientific name: Certhia americana
Reference photo by Alan Wilson, NaturesPicsOnline.com
Bearded Reedling in wetlands
Bearded Reedling, 7 Oct 2023 (Art and photo composite; Background photo from Wikimedia)
The bearded reedling is a small, sexually dimorphic reed-bed passerine bird. It is frequently known as the bearded tit, due to some similarities to the long-tailed tit, or the bearded parrotbill. It is the only species in the family Panuridae. Wikipedia
Scientific name: Panurus biarmicus
Azure Tit foraging on a log
The azure tit is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout Russia, Central Asia, northwest China, Manchuria, and Pakistan. It is found in temperate and subarctic deciduous or mixed woodlands, scrub, and marshes. Wikipedia
Scientific name: Cyanistes cyanus
Pink Robin in a mossy forest
The pink robin is a small passerine bird native to southeastern Australia. Its natural habitats are cool temperate forests of far southeastern Australia. Like many brightly coloured robins of the family Petroicidae, it is sexually dimorphic. Wikipedia
Scientific name: Petroica rodinogaster
Black-headed Gull
Black-headed gull 23 Oct 2023, art and photo composite
The black-headed gull is a small gull that breeds in much of the Palearctic including Europe and also in coastal eastern Canada. Most of the population is migratory and winters further south, but some birds reside in the milder westernmost areas of Europe. Wikipedia
Scientific name: Chroicocephalus ridibundus
On the drawing board
Now, I plan on capturing pictures in the local forest, lake and sky – for creating the montages. The custom backdrops will set the stage for a variety of birds including American Robins, Steller’s Jays, Nuthatches, Juncos, Chickadees and more.
Follow me on Instagram
Watercolor artwork on Instagram
A little history of Mixed Media
“The use of mixed media began around 1912 with the cubist collages and constructions of Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, and has become widespread as artists developed increasingly open attitudes to the media of art. Essentially art can be made of anything or any combination of things.
“What is the difference between mixed media and multi-media artworks? While both terms describe artworks that are made using a range of materials, multi-media is generally used to define an artwork that uses or includes a combination of electronic media, such as video, film, audio and computers.” (source: Mixed media | Tate)
What is a Photomontage?
Photomontage is the process and the result of making a composite photograph by cutting, gluing, rearranging and overlapping two or more photographs into a new image.
Photo Permission and Credits
As a photographer, granting use to hundreds of pictures, it’s vital that you ask permission before using a photo and include a proper photo credit. Thankfully, photographers tend to be generous with sharing their work — so please ask for permission ahead of time. There are many good sources of reference photos online.
One of my favorite sources for wildlife images is NaturesPicsOnline.com hosted by photographers Elaine and Alan Wilson of Canada. I thank them for generously sharing their photo collection.
Unsplash.com and Wikimedia are good sources for copyright free photos.
About the Artist
Tim Knight (TFK) works in Public Health by day, and creates stunning artwork in the evening. As a biologist he worked on field studies, bird communication, and seismology of the Pacific Northwest. Years ago he took classes in scientific illustration using traditional pen and ink techniques. In 2020, he took up birding and watercolor painting during the pandemic.
Information updated in March 2023
Knight Family of Seattle 