When I think about wild birds, I don't see them as fluffy, decorative things that are there for us to enjoy. I think of them as living creatures that have to somehow survive in all all weather conditions, and have evolved to have the best chance of doing that. I think about how hard that life must be for them, and wonder how we must look to them when we turn up in their territory.
Birdwatching, for me, taps into my fascination with natural history, which started as long ago as I can remember. I grew up watching David Attenborough documentaries, being taken for long and often muddy walks by my family looking for birds and other wildlife, and poring through nature books. I drew tracks from foxes and deer so I could remember what they looked like for next time we went out, and searched for owl pellets under trees (I never found any).
I've been wanting to do some etchings of birds for a while, but it was only when I started focus on drawing their feet that I found a way into the subject. Feet and beaks are specialised for survival, tailored for different habitats and food sources, and there is nothing fluffy or cute about that.
'Crow' is a hard ground etching with aquatint inspired by a crow I passed by a village pond. It watched me as it dug its claws into a wooden post against the wind, shifting to observe me as I walked past it. I think it was a young bird because it showed more curiosity than apprehension – but you never can tell with crows, because they're clever and generally interested in things.
I took a quick photo and then made an ink drawing, emphasising elements like the feet, the curve of the shoulder and the fluttering wing and tail feathers, which made me think of a dark cloak or robe. I also simplified the background (the pond, some grass and a path) to something more geometric to emphasise the manmade nature of the environment. The pattern on the post was made by keeping the pen moving constantly, making marks instinctively, symbolising where human order and wild nature meet.
I transferred the drawing to a zinc plate covered with hard ground and etched the lines before I added tone with aquatint. I wanted a density of colour to the black feathers but I also wanted some of the texture of the drawing to come through, so when I laid the aquatint over the top, I made sure to bite the plate in stages, leaving the darkest parts at the bottom.