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Since moving to Chapel Cottage in the heart of rural Suffolk I have seen more yellowhammers than I had in my entire life up to that point.
As they have become such a significant feature on my dog walks, I knew I had to paint them and it very quickly became clear to me that the paintings should form a series of small works.
There is an old hedgerow on my regular dog walk where I see these pretty little birds more often than I don’t. Even in the depths of winter, I am often surprised by a little beacon of bright yellow in the low winter sun - as if somebody had switched on a light bulb.
As I walk alongside the hedge the yellowhammers perch up on the top, calling their regular song (or sometimes simply sounding alarm notes). They flit along for ten metres or so only to alight again a little way in front of me. Sometimes they are shy and remain tantalisingly too far to observe in detail. At other times they sit up just in front of me as if guiding the way like little twinkling jewels. If I’m lucky I can stop and they will stay where they are and I can study them as they cautiously look back at me.
Yellowhammers on the hedge
This is how I got the reference photographs that I worked from for the yellowhammer painting series. The birds were a little guarded as they watched me, but they were brave enough to stay close and look curiously at the strange being who kept staring at them.
I wanted to depict them in this format, sitting on the top of the old hedgerow and looking back at the viewer; watchful and sometimes a little wary but, above all, curious. (I feel I can relate very strongly to this way of interacting with the world!).
I used a background imprimatur layer of yellow ochre mixed with a bit of burnt sienna to create a rich and warm mid tone. I knew I would be using a cool, pale blue for the wintery sky so this base layer gave me a bit of warmth to shine though.
Early stages of the paintings with ochre background
I mostly work on one painting at a time and I don’t generally start a new one until the last one is finished. This series was different because I decided to work on all three at the same time. This would ensure that the colour palette was uniform across the three so they would work as a set as well as individually. It also enabled me to experiment across the series and where something worked well, I could instantly try to replicate the technique on the others.
As I worked with the three different positions of the birds, I really felt like I got to know them better as a species. It is the wonderful thing about paintings that involve a lot of careful observation: The more time you spend with a subject, the stronger the relationship and connection.
Painting 1
Painting 2
Painting 3
Each painting is 20cm x 20cm or 8 inches by 8 inches. This is a lovely size to work on for hedgerow bird paintings and just felt right for these beautiful birds. Once they are in my favourite chunky frames they will be much more substantial but not overwhelming in size. It’s a great size for smaller spaces or more intimate parts of a room - or even between the beams in an older property. Sometimes you just need a precious little painting for a small space!
Having said that, I will test some prints in larger formats once they have been professionally photographed to see if they work. I will probably make at least one of these images into a greetings card too. Watch this space for updates! (If you have any suggestions or requests - please let me know).
Yellowhammers are red listed in the UK, which means that they are now considered quite rare.
The population in the UK has declined by 50% since the 1980s. This makes the cluster of beautiful yellow birds that I see on my dog walks particularly special. I used to see a few of them in the village where I grew up (about 15 miles from where I now live) during the 1980s but not as regularly as the group I see now. To know that there are only half the number of birds in the UK now that there were when I was a child really drives home what a privilege it is to see them.
Thankfully our local farmer has a good understanding of the natural world and as well as large hedgerows and a local shaw (a narrow strip of woodland between fields), the stubble was left on the field over winter, providing a good source of food for these struggling birds. Many farmers reduce or remove stubble which has contributed to their decline so it’s gratifying to see farming practices that work alongside wildlife.
A hare sitting in one of the fields with stubble in winter 2021-22
Yellowhammers are most often seen on top of hedgerows, which is where I spotted the subjects of my series of yellowhammer paintings.
People who are familiar with these brightly coloured birds might also be familiar with their song, “A little bit of bread and no cheese”. I am not great at identifying birdsong but this is one distinctive tune that I have learnt!
Edit:
Yellowhammer prints and yellowhammer canvases are now available!
Canvases and prints:
Chicken canvases and chicken prints
Kingfishers canvases and kingfishers prints
Pheasant canvases and pheasant prints
Cards:
Kingfishers card (blank inside)
I’m taking part in Suffolk Open Studios this June! Come and visit my working studio to see original paintings, prints, and behind-the-scenes creativity. Find out more about the opening dates and times and what will be on offer...
What does a self-portrait reveal about an artist? In my latest blog, I look at how self-portraits balance revealing and concealing. I reflect on the works of Rembrandt, Kahlo, and Gentileschi - while also sharing the story behind my own recent painting.
