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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Yes, it is yet another jumping spider! I can’t get enough of these little dynamos. I found this little one on a flower and brought it into the basement in the hopes of getting some good macro shots. I really … Continued