Last fall outside the windows of my art room, I place new bird feeders. I really enjoy hearing and watching the birds during the daytime. They often pleasantly distract me from my weekend yoga routine. Although I have painted and drawn birds in the past I became interested in becoming more realistic with my depictions. To that end, I purchased Law’s Guide to Drawing Birds.
I was attracted to this book because of the Audubon’s logo in the corner. I figured if any book on this topic was going to be good it would be the book published by the Audubon Society.
John Muir Laws is a well-known naturalist and artist. You can read his blog which contains musings on art, nature, and art tutorials here. I am not sure if he is related to the even more famous naturalist and father of national parks John Muir or just named after him.
The Laws Guide to Drawing Birds is the book for you if you are looking for assistance on how to both draw bird anatomy in detail and quick in the field renderings. The book also includes a brief introduction to the author’s favorite materials and supplies. It is a well-rounded guide but most of the emphasis is on giving readers a detailed understanding of bird anatomy so the can better render it in their art.
The book also contains several ‘step by step’ demonstrations which I enjoyed following along with. Below are a few examples.
I have begun to apply the principles I learned about feet, body type, and feathers to my own art. While I have a lot farther to go but I think the guidance from the book is helping.
Happy art Journey,
Justine
My Art Journey 
I am digging the drawing! Do you have any crow drawings?
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I did a few for Inktober a while back. https://wordpress.com/post/myartjourney.blog/1348
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That link did not like me. Can you send it again? I can also look for the post date and scroll back to it.
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Try: https://wp.me/p944fB-lK
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