Andean Cock of the Rock Transparent Watercolor Step-by-Step
As a child, my parents supplied my brothers and I with tons of books about animals. We also always had a subscription to National Geographic magazine. In addition to the new magazines coming in we had shelves filled with ancient back issues. Countless hours were spent going through them, learning about exotic animals and far away places. I remember specific issues with great clarity. There was one on sharks that we looked through so many times it was wearing out.
One happy day I came across pictures of Cock of the Rocks in one of those old issues. I don’t recall if it was the Andean or the Guinean, and I suppose it doesn’t really matter, but I was fascinated. They were one of the most beautiful animals I’d ever seen, with the strangest orange slice shaped feathers above their head. The contrast of these orange and black birds on the dappled green background was spectacular.
I’ve wanted to do a painting of one for a long time, but have not seen them in zoos. When I saw this specimen of an Andean Cock of the Rock at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, I finally had some good references to paint from.
Backyard Northern Shrike!
Every once in a while you get treated to a great bird right in your own backyard. We were treated to a Northern Shrike today. I managed to grab some documentary shots. Not great photos, but decent evidence of an unusual visitor to our neighborhood!
Black-capped Chickadee on Snowy Branches Pencil Sketch p7
Chickadees are remarkable birds. First, it is almost impossible to find someone who doesn’t like these cute and cheery birds. In addition to looks and personality, they also seem intelligent and adaptable. Although tiny, they are hardy and can survive unbelievably cold weather.
While working on this sketch, I kept thinking about a place from my youth called Ski Wing. We went downhill skiing there all the time. It was a great way to have fun in the frigid winters near Buffalo, NY. The ski chalet there backed up against the woods. A few times a day we’d have to pass between the woods and the chalet on the way to the Ski Club where we kept our skiis, would take a break to warm up or would have lunch. Like the chickadees, the staff at the Main Chalet was “resourceful” (meaning cheap) and would dispose of the old contents of their deep frier by throwing it out the back door where the fat would quickly freeze against the snow. There was always a crowd of chickadees and titmice waiting for their turn to gobble up the energy rich “suet” that the fry cook supplied them with. You could get unbelievable close to them. I’d often stop and watch them devouring the fat and bathe in the thick aroma of old french fries. Lord knows what other wildlife was attracted to the waste they’d throw out back. At least we didn’t see any rats. I’d imagine that when spring came and the “glaciers” receded from behind the chalet, that there was a mountain of putrefying rancid fat sitting there. Yuck!
Marsh Fly Transparent Watercolor Step-by-Step
I got several nice shots of a marsh fly this past summer and sketched from the photos. While going through the sketchbook looking for something to paint, I decided that the fly would be fun and interesting to work on. I typically don’t think much about the “sale-ability” of my paintings. Most often I paint birds, mammals and dragonflies, which seem (at least to me) to have a fairly universal appeal. Midway through the painting it occurred to me, “Who on earth is going to want to buy a painting or a print of a marsh fly?” It appealed to me, though it’s been said that artists don’t usually make good businessmen. Oh well. (Hey, at least it’s not a maggot!)
In the macro world it has a certain attractiveness. Bright red eyes, an orange body and long, stilt-like legs make for an interesting contrast to the smooth, green background.
Daring Jumping Spider Pencil Sketch p6
As a kid, summers in western NY seemed to go by much too quickly. My brothers and I spent a lot of time at a swimming pool that was near our house. The most dreaded thing we would hear was the lifeguard call out “Adult Swim!” At that point a flock of fleshy, lentigo-peppered octogenarians would give the kids the evil eye until we abandoned the pool. I can still conjure up images of one surly individual in a textured floral rubber swim cap that could’ve been the model for any number of Dr. Seuss’s more twisted interpretations of the human form. After an eternity we would finally hear the call “Kids Swim” and we’d explode back into the pool. For some reason the pool always had a funny smell about it when we got back. Perhaps it was a mixture of Ben Gay, Coppertone, Denture grip and Preperation H??? I’ll never know.
So, what does all this have to do with a drawing of a jumping spider? Honestly there is a point in here somewhere. Well, my brothers and I would usually leave the pool area during adult swim, grab a snack and hang out together. When we were done with our obligatory towel fights, we’d nurse our wounds sitting on a stone wall nearby. For some reason that stone wall had tons of jumping spiders on it. My earliest memories of jumpers were from that location. There were several varieties. Some were smallish and blended almost perfectly with the grey lichens and stones. Others were patterned in bold black, white and gray. We’d often get treated to seeing spectacular big black jumping spiders with orange on their backs like the one in the drawing. Later, I found out that these amazingly acrobatic creatures had an appropriately cool name, the “Daring Jumping Spider.” Time went by pretty quickly watching those spiders. Something good came from our forced exile during Adult Swims after all!
One-eyed Toad Pencil Sketch (p5)
I’ve had many, many pets. As a child my parents allowed my brothers and I to have a variety of great pets. We ALWAYS had a dog. We also had turtles, fish and several types of parrots. Many of my most happy childhood memories revolve around them.
Our kids are completely animal-centric. We’ve had a gecko that we found in a hotel room, a gaggle of lovebirds, cockatiels (one of which we found flying “wild” around our neighborhood), fish tanks and the world’s easiest-going dog. We are at our all-time low now, with only three pets at the moment.
Our oddest pet to date is our one-eyed American toad. She is possibly the fattest, and—don’t tell her I said this—the laziest toad in the state. She was blinded in a lawn mower accident as a wee little toad over eight years ago. We brought her in to keep her out of harm’s way. Our children and their friends really get a kick out of her. They all seem to enjoy watching her devour earthworms. With only one good eye, she lacks depth perception. She is a fairly inaccurate hunter but makes up for that with enthusiasm. She occasionally flicks her tongue out trying to catch the kids’ fingers. They giggle wildly and try to get her to do it again. If you ever wondered what a toad’s tongue feels like, the kids tell me that it is sticky, just like Scotch tape.
Blue-spotted Salamander Pencil Sketch (p4)
I love salamanders. Unfortunately, Michigan isn’t exactly the salamander capital of the world. I grew up in western New York where they are abundant. Whenever I return to my hometown I try go into the woods and turn over some logs and rocks to see what fantastic things are waiting underneath. Salamanders there have many colors from red, orange, yellow, green, blue, black, grey, and brown… beautifully arranged in solids, stripes, and spots. They are very fashionable! In Western NY I’ve found the whole size range, from tiny four-toed salamanders, to the enormous, slime-covered hellbender salamanders at two feet! Usually I have the camera with me to record the find and draw it later.
This past fall, I was hiking in the woods behind our house here in the Michigan with our 7 year old Timmy. We tipped over a log and found a nice big blue-spotted salamander. Understandably, Timmy was very excited with the find. I can’t wait for him to see a hellbender in the wild! We took it home for a few hours to photograph and returned it later. This subject proved to be a most uncooperative and wiggly model.
Blue-spotted salamanders are a common type of mole salamander. Others in this genus include the beautiful spotted and tiger salamanders.
Ant-mimicking Jumping Spider Pencil Sketch (Page 3)
I found this awesome jumping spider on the faucet of the bathroom sink one morning. It was quite tiny—only about an eighth of an inch. I brought it downstairs and put it under the 100mm macro lens and three flashes with diffusers to get a bunch of photos. Extension tubes allowed closer working distance, as well as greater magnification of the tiny subject. I got a variety of good shots to draw from. This is a female spider, as can be seen by the smaller pedipalps (foot feelers).
While my kids are in karate class, I tend to do a lot of drawing from my own photos. That means I can squeeze in about 5 hours a week drawing at the dojo. It’s interesting to see the responses to the different animals I happen to be working on there. People tend to find birds, dragonflies, frogs and salamanders interesting. Spiders and snakes seem to repulse many, yet most of these animals are not only harmless but also beneficial. Spiders in particular are remarkable and interesting creatures. Many are beautiful, and a few are almost cute. Jumping spiders seem to be very catlike, sneaking up and pouncing on their prey. Maybe they should get the felines’ public relations firm to work on their image? Here in Michigan the only spiders that can spoil your day are the brown recluse and black widow. Both are seldom encountered in our state.
Anyone interested in the natural world should really take the time to watch spiders for a while. They are fantastic designers and architects. Seeing an orb weaver build a web is one of the most fascinating things you can imagine. Following a jumping spider around for a 15 minutes would probably change many people’s perspective. They are truly incredible athletes, able to jump impressive distances in the blink of an eye. They are also masters of patience and stealth. The dramatics of their hunting probably rivals anything on the African plains, yet it’s happening in your own back yard every summer day!
Male Eastern Pondhawk on Timothy Grass Transparent Watercolor Step-by-step
Pondhawks are common dragonflies throughout the United States. The females are brilliant green, while the mature males are chalky blue with a green head and eyes. At some point I’d like to paint a female as well, but I need to get some good photo references first.
This painting was a real chore. I usually have a clear vision in my mind of the finished piece, as well as all the steps I’ll need to go through to get there. Every once in a while you have painting that just doesn’t want to cooperate. Short of spontaneously catching fire, most of the things that could go wrong did go wrong with this one. I was relieved when I put down the brushes and still had a decent painting.
Crab Spider Pencil Sketch (#2)
So far the new sketchbook is arthropod friendly. This drawing is of a crab spider. My wife likes to bring in fresh-cut flowers from our garden. She also inadvertently brings in a lot of good insects to photograph and sketch. This attractive crab spider showed up on the kitchen table and eventually made its way downstairs under the macro lens and later into the sketchbook. Well, I should be more specific… a drawing of the spider made it into the sketchbook, the actual spider was safely returned to the great outdoors. I don’t want anyone thinking she got squished in there!
Crab spiders have habits that surprise some people. Unlike many spiders, they aren’t web builders. They are well camouflaged, hiding in flowers waiting for an unsuspecting bee, fly or beetle to come by to eat dinner… then, WHAM!, the crab spider pounces on its prey. It can be a dangerous world out there!
