"Snipe in the marshes"

The common snipe (Gallinago gallinago) is a migratory wader of the wetlands, near-invisible among the reeds until its explosive zigzag departure.

The snipe's flush lasts less than a second. This drawing seeks to freeze that impossible moment: the bird still on the ground by its legs, already airborne by its wings. The rushes around remain as light lines, barely placed — the precise work is concentrated on the plumage, the dense striations of the feathers opening as they spread.