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’m pretty bad when it comes to shorebirds. I can hold my own with birds of the forest and field as well as ducks, but if you take me to the shore, I start scratching my heard and looking through … Continued
Winter finches are always a welcome sight. After all the migrants trail off, it’s nice to see old friends at the feeders. Pine Siskins are fairly reliable. We get them at the feeders every year, though the quantity tends to vary dramatically. A finch … Continued
Night-herons are undeniably neat creatures. I first came across them during trips to Florida when I was a grad student and assisting with a course called Ecology of the Everglades. I had a tough time picking which I liked better, the Yellow-crowned or Black-crowned. Typically, the … Continued
Growing up in western New York state, I never saw Sandhill Cranes. My first encounter with one was during a bike ride shortly after moving to Ann Arbor to go to grad school at the University of Michigan. Rolling along … Continued
While doodling around one day I started a sea horse drawing. With these caricatures I’m always anthropomorphizing. It seems to me that seahorses are always portrayed as beautiful and classy creatures. Why should they get all the glory? Come on… I’m sure there are … Continued
This is a bit of a change in media for me. I haven’t done a pen-and-ink drawing in over 20 years! I was cleaning up my flat files, going through old paintings and sketches when I came across a piece … Continued
Years ago I read a quote by a famous bird photographer that stuck in my mind. He proclaimed, “Pictures of birds singing are hard to make but easy to sell!” I don’t know if that can be extrapolated to paintings, but it … 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
I’ve always been amazed at how sturdy these little dynamos are. Being one of the earliest migrants in the spring and one of the latest in the fall, they tolerate a lot of cold weather. On top of that they … Continued