OBSERVATIONS2

OBSERVATIONS2 One Year Of Landscape Drawings And Nature Studies January - December 2011

by ROB DUNLAVEY

OBSERVATIONS2 by Rob Dunlavey

Š 2012 all rights reserved For more information, please visit my website www.robd.com

OBSERVATIONS2 O n e Y e a r O f L a n d s c a p e D r aw i n g s & Nat u r e S t u d i e s

J a n ua r y - D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1

The drawings reproduced in this small book were made in 2011. I created more but I think that these are some of the better ones. Most were drawn within walking distance of my home. Many are of the dam on the Charles River in South Natick; I like the animals that live there and the sound of the rushing water. Other locations are Lake Waban (including the greenhouses at Wellesley College), Elm Bank Reservation and Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary.

Rob Dunlavey July 2012

01-05-11 A sheet of ice and snow covers the river except where it plunges over the South Natick Dam.

01-17-11 Another view of the icy river and dam. Do you see the footprints of ducks and geese in the snow?

01-20-11 Weedy trees grow in the stone walls above the dam. A few inches of snow covers the ground

01-25-11 Fuller Brook where it meets the Charles River, Elm Bank.

01-29-11 The Charles River flowing to Boston under the Pleasant Street bridge, South Natick.

02-06-11 The island below the dam with two mallards. I made this drawing from the bridge on a Sunday morning.

02-10-11 Another view of the ice covered dam.

02-21-11 The South Natick Dam with the fish ladder visible in the foreground

02-23-11 Early morning sun and shadows, February 2011

02-24-11 Corner of a sunroom, Woolwich, Maine

03-07-11 The ice sheets are retreating and the river is very full, March 2011

03-17-11 A muskrat explores the flooded forest in Elm Bank near the Charles River.

03-30-11 The Pleasant Street Bridge

04-10-11 High water: The Pleasant Street bridge and the island below the dam.

There are puddles in the lawn above the retaining wall.

04-27-11 Early Spring 2011: a turtle suns on a submerged log, Lake Waban, Wellesley

04-29-11 Fiddleheads, Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary, Natick, MA

04-30-11 Two cormorants, Lake Waban, Wellesley

04-30-11 Robin Lake Waban, Wellesley

05-08-11 A view of the Charles River downstream from the bridge. Pleasant Street is busy with suburban commuters five days of the week; I made this drawing on a Sunday morning.

05-12-11 Beech tree, Elm Bank, Natick

05-23-11 Robin's nest, Elm Bank, Natick

06-03-11 Indian Brook Marsh, Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary

06-05-11 The island below the dam, South Natick MA

06-12-11 The South Natick dam with a Great Blue Heron and Swifts.

06-19-11 A Great Blue Heron hunting at the base of the dam.

06-22-11 Great Blue Heron. The slow and stealthy hunting habits of herons make them relatively easy to draw.

06-24-11 Bald Mountain from Student's Island, Mooselookmeguntic Lake, Maine

06-27-11 The goldfish pool in the Children's Garden at Elm Bank.

07-04-11 Four Cormorants, Lake Waban, Wellesley

07-10-11 The South Natick Dam

07-14-11 The South Natick Dam and three geese. It's a breezy morning; you can see the foam being blown by the wind.

07-14-11 Canada Geese

07-16-11 The Hunnewell Pinetum from Tupelo Point, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA

07-21-11 A view of some geese and ducks through an arch of the Pleasant Street bridge.

07-29-11 Two young Common Mergansers sleeping below the dam.

07-31-11 Canada Geese dabbling in the duckweed and muck near the shore above the dam.

08-02-11 Great Blue Heron

08-04-11 The morning sun shines through an arch of the Pleasant Street bridge.

08-08-11 The Pleasant Street bridge

08-08-11 Great Blue Heron feeding at the dam

08-13-11 Water lily (detail)

08-13-11 Water lilies, Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary

08-20-11 The fish ladder at the dam.

08-22-11 A Common Sandpiper

08-23-11 This was drawn at about noon (you can tell by the shadows) while I was being interviewed by a newspaper reporter.

08-27-11 Mallards atop the dam

08-29-11 I believe there was a lot of rain since August 27th. You can see a heron fishing from the shore up high.

09-09-11 The willow tree in the park above the dam. Summer is nearly over and school has started.

09-11-11 9-11: the bridge from the downstream side. The river keeps flowing with our sorrow.

09-15-11 Water lily flower, Elm Bank

09-19-11 The Pleasant Street Bridge and vegetation

09-20-11 Mallards, Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary

09-23-11 Dead bird and sketches of a heron hunting.

The songbird had been hit by a car. I brought it home and made several detailed studies.

10-08-11 Another study of a roadkilled White-throated Sparrow about a month later

09-26-11 The river in full spate. There must have been a hurricane or tropical storm.

10-08-11 The swollen Charles River flows over the dam in South Natick

10-17-11 Tree trunk, Elm Bank

10-23-11 The Charles River, Pleasant Street bridge

11-05-11 The island below the dam and the bridge. Somewhere, in time, Autumn has begun and the leaves have fallen.

11-10-11

11-14-11 More rain! The water thunders over the dam.

11-19-11 A Cattleya orchid drawn early on a Saturday morning, Wellesley College greenhouses.

11-19-11 The dam at dusk.

11-24-11 Reflections in the river above the dam.

11-25-11 The Hunnewell Pinetum This was drawn with a gold colored pencil.

11-26-11 Mallards feeding, Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary

12-06-11 The South Natick Dam

12-10-11 An arrangement of cacti, Wellesley College Greenhouses.

12-12-11 High water: The rain-swollen Charles River rolls under Pleasant Street.

12-15-11 An abandoned bird nest, Lake Waban, Wellesley, MA.

12-23-11 Papyrus plants, Wellesley College Greenhouses

12-26-11 The day after Christmas: High water floods the island below the dam

12-29-11 It's almost the New Year and the river keeps on flowing.

ROB DUNLAVEY Rob is an artist and illustrator who lives near Boston. His illustrations have appeared in many newspapers and magazines. He is currently working on several children's books for two US publishers.

Find out more at www.robd.com.

OBSERVATIONS are uncommissioned works of art done for pleasure (mine, and hopefully yours) and my personal need to make art on a daily basis. You might be interested in my previous book of OBSERVATIONS:

A note on drawing materials These drawings were created with a variety of media in regular black bound sketchbooks. I used colored pencils, litho crayons, graphite, charcoal and contĂŠ pencils. Once in a while, I used a black wax crayon. Occasionally I have added a watercolor wash to a drawing. I do them in one sitting; approximately thirty minutes to an hour. No erasing!

Rob Dunlavey July 2012

S E L F - P U B L I S H E D

P O R T F O L I O S

CRYSTAL CITIES

A hand-picked selection from over 200 paintings of imaginary cities, villages & towns, castles, cathedrals and churches.

DESTINATION UNKNOWN

A graphic exploration within a limited and idiosyncratic visual vocabulary of racecars, dragsters, junkers, clunkers, hand-me-down hot rods and other assorted vehicles‌

POINTY PEOPLE

Sketches and paintings of little (and some very big) people who all wear pointy hats.

Other than this idiosyncrasy, they’re just like you and me.

OBSERVATIONS

A collection of forty original drawings of the landscape and wildlife of South Natick, Dover & Wellesley, Massachusetts.

Rob Dunlavey

Rob is an artist and illustrator from Boston.

He draws lots of pictures. See them here: www.robd.com