Carolina Wren Pencil Sketch p54
One Carolina Wren wasn’t enough! These cute birds can make quite a racket at times. The males are exceptionally vocal, making a “teakettle-teakettle-teakettle” call. These wrens are also known for making nests in odd places. I’ve seen photos of their … Continued
Carolina Wren Pencil Sketch p52
I like the Carolina Wrens. I’m always impressed that they brave the frigid cold and stay around all winter. In the bitter weather they regularly hide in our window wells to get out of the harsh wind, snow and cold. … Continued
Jumping Spider on Daisy Step-by-step Transparent Watercolor
Well, you can’t accuse me of selling out. While I love jumping spiders, I can’t imagine there is a huge market for detailed watercolors of them. Maybe I’ll be proved wrong. For a while frogs and toads were among my … Continued
Assassins in the Backyard!
As the cold weather gets ready arrive in mid-Michigan I’ve been trying to photograph the last of the insects and spiders. I found these two fascinating specimens in our garden. Both are true bugs of the order Hemiptera. Hemipteran insects … Continued
Spur-winged Plover Pencil Sketch p51
This is a pencil sketch of a Spur-winged Plover (Vanellus spinosus) from the Toledo Zoo. They are also sometimes called Spur-winged Lapwings. They get their name from a claw-like spur hidden under each wing. The birds are common in sub-Saharan … Continued
Male Crested Wood Partridge Pencil Sketch p50
Page 50. I’m now halfway through my hard bound sketchbook without any major artistic disasters! The pressure is on to have a strong finish in the second half. The cover and binding of the sketchbook is starting to get pretty … Continued
Reckless Jumper Pencil Sketch (Pelegrina proverta) p49
Over the past few years I’ve become more and more interested in jumping spiders. It is a real challenge to photograph them in order to get drawing and painting references. Sometimes I photograph them in the field, and other times … Continued
Pine Siskin Pencil Sketch p48
I’m finally trying to get through a big backlog of sketches that I haven’t posted. It has been a busy Spring and Summer! Pine siskins are great little birds. The past few years we have had many of them … Continued
Crab Spider on Rudbeckia Pencil Sketch p47
Crab spiders are interesting to observe. They are a bit unusual when compared to the orb weaving spiders that people are most familiar with. Crab spiders are ambush hunters, relying on stealth rather than trapping prey in webs. Typically they … Continued
More Backyard Arachnids
Summer is here, so I’m getting as much photo reference for future paintings as I can. I found a cooperative Tan Jumper and female Dimorphic Jumper today and set up the all the photo gear. There were all taken with … Continued