Tips for painting birds

I enjoyed the article 'Birds of the shore' by Richard Allen (August 2021 issue). Birds can be very frustrating to draw, for a beginner, as they have a habit of flying away, just as you start drawing the detail. To overcome this problem I use an artist's field guide on birds entitled Birds by Character, illustrated by wellknown British bird artists Ian Wallace, Darren Rees, John Busby and Peter Partington, which depicts birds by their jizz (behaviour or posture). I also carry a notebook that I made on small details, markings and colours.

Gary McGuire, by email