This watercolor painting and pencil sketch of a Black-bellied Plover are from the stockpile of photos taken on last year’s trip to Florida with my brother Ted. The drawing is p84 from the sketchbook. I’m getting dangerously close to finishing … Continued
I love birds but have a definite weak spot in my life list when it comes to shorebirds. Having lived mostly inland, far away from the coast, I’ve missed out on seeing many of these birds. I enjoy watching them and learning … Continued
The sleek, fine feathering of Cedar Waxwings makes for a good challenge in watercolor. When picking out what to paint next, I usually try to choose things I’ve not done before. Breaking new ground keeps things fresh and offers new challenges. … Continued
It’s been over a month since I posted. I’ve been insanely busy with medical illustration and animation work, which is good, since my freelance work tends to be “Feast or Famine.” Plus, it was peak season for mountain biking. This blog is … Continued
After a few insect paintings, I thought it was time to mix things up again, and this collection of caricatured fish accidentally made it to the top of the to-do list. Here’s how it managed to weasel its way to the … Continued
This treehopper is an impressive thorn mimic. A few years ago I saw a set of thorns on the redbud and thought, “Wait a minute… that shouldn’t have thorns.” Sure enough, it was a cluster of thorn mimics. They are great … Continued
Yes, it is a watercolor painting of a spider. Sorry if you’re not a fan, but I really like jumping spiders and enjoy photographing, drawing and painting them. These interesting little guys are ambush predators, pouncing on their prey much like a … Continued
Golden-crowned Kinglets are powerfully cute, so this transparent watercolor painting was great fun to complete. In our house family members tend to get distracted by birds in the yard. That is a hazard—and benefit—of homeschooling the kids. It’s also probably one reason why our … Continued
This is a 7 x 10-inch transparent watercolor painting of a Pine Siskin on Arches 140lb hot pressed paper. I’ve had this sketch sitting around for a while and thought it would be fun to paint. I’ve always loved Pine … Continued
After taking a break from doing these incredibly complex paintings for about 20 years, I did two back-to-back. Maybe that wasn’t the best idea, as this one took just shy of 100 hours! I could’ve completed about seven of my typical paintings … Continued