A celebration of birdsong in ink, coloured pencil, and gold leaf
‘Their Golden Song’ celebrates UK birds through rendering their unique songs in gold. The original drawings were produced in pen, coloured pencil, and 23 ct gold leaf. I had been wanting to make a collection like this for quite a while, and have been improving my skills with gold leaf in anticipation of finally putting it together.
No. 4: Wren
The songs were copied from sonograms within the ‘Merlin’ birdsong app, which convert the song of each bird into a visual representation. I first tried out this idea last year in my microseasons nature journal and the idea just stuck in my mind.
I started the project earlier this year by collecting photographs to work from, most of which are my own. Going out listening to birds, tracing the songs and finding the singer to photograph! I then gradually worked on whittling the list of possible photos down to a collection of 12 birds, represented across 8 compositions. They’re now all finished and ready to share with the world!
If you’re local, you can see (and buy if you’d like!) the original artworks at the Malthouse Gallery, Town Mill, Lyme Regis, DT7 3PU from 15th to 25th June, 10:00 – 16:30 daily. The eight framed originals are priced between £200 and £325. Greetings cards and card sets are also available to buy, plus my books, maps, and other things! If you’re not local – read on!
I have also collected the Golden Song artworks into a booklet, which includes anecdotes and information about each of the included species (with a focus on their songs/calls and how they use them). I also include some little snippets of my own poetry inspired by the songs, and information on how I made the artworks.
For UK residents, this is available as a physical booklet from my website right now for £8 + P&P. It includes a foiled cover, so you can really get the effect of the original gold pieces. If you’d like a copy, it’s available to purchase here or by clicking the image below.
If you’re not in the UK, you can still get hold of the collection (and support my work) by purchasing the digital download of the booklet. This is £5 and available to purchase here or by clicking the image below.
Thanks so much for supporting ‘Their Golden Song’. I would love to expand this collection one day, but it all depends on the reception to this current set, so do let me know your feedback!
