Boat-tailed Grackle Pencil Sketch p34
Boat-tailed Grackles shimmer with iridescence. What appears to be jet black fades into beautiful metallic blues, greens and purples. Of course all of that gets lost in a simple pencil sketch! At some point I’ll need to render this in watercolor … Continued
Snowy Day Photos from the Kitchen Window
By the time March rolls around I’m usually ready for the snow to leave. That doesn’t always work out in Michigan. Yesterday we had some beautiful snow. I think many of the early migrants weren’t so happy about the ground … Continued
Tricolor Heron Pencil Sketch p33
The Tricolor Heron is an underrated bird. Maybe it needs a better name. There are Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons and Snowy Egrets, which all sound rather cool. Then you have a mundane name like Tricolor Heron. Of course I … Continued
Wading Snowy Egret Pencil Sketch p32
Snowy egrets are undeniably beautiful birds. Typically when I’ve encountered them they were along the shore or wading in the water hunting for fish. On my last trip to Florida, I saw that they don’t always do the fishing for themselves… … Continued
Lab Chow Mixed Breed Dog Transparent Watercolor and Ink Step-by-Step
This was the hardest painting I’ve done in years. It wasn’t big. It wasn’t complicated. It was brutal. Our dog Archie died out of the blue right before Christmas. I started this painting shortly after he died. I’m a huge … Continued
Crab Spider Transparent Watercolor Step-by-step
This summer I gave myself a goal of getting some good macro photos for drawing and painting reference. Last year I concentrated on dragonflies and damselflies. This time around I was especially interested in spiders. I spent a few days … Continued
Brown Pelican Pencil Sketch p31
I get a huge kick out of pelicans. They certainly look like they were designed by a committee. They have a huge floating boat of a body, topped off by an ungainly, massive head and net-like bill. Somehow they manage … Continued
Northern Cardinal Pencil Sketch p30
The Northern Cardinal is a fantastic bird. The sight of this brilliant bird on a snowy day is always a welcome sight. That rich red against the stark white of the snow really makes the eyeballs happy. Their beautiful colors … Continued
Horses in Snow (Transparent Watercolor)
Horses are fascinating and beautiful animals. Early humans were captivated by them, as is evident in many cave paintings. They also were a source of food. The modern horse that we are familiar with is Equus ferus caballus, which is at … Continued
American Red Squirrel Pencil Sketch p29
My mother has a real love of nature and animals. She was not one to frivolously shop. However, once when I was a teenager she came home with a something unusual. She opened up a box and showed us her … Continued