Now that is big! This mural was made from my watercolor painting Great Blue Heron Taking Flight. The original commissioned piece is 9 x 24 inches and was completed a few years ago. Lansing’s Art in the Wild recently had a call for entries for … Continued
This painting of an Eastern Towhee is a little unusual. Snow isn’t the first thing I normally associate with this species. For a number of years a male towhee would show up in our yard a few weeks before I’d see … Continued
Gray Treefrogs frequent our yard. Hearing their call always puts a smile on my face. These frogs like selecting protected areas to hide during the day. A favorite spot is the space between the top of our shed door and the drip cap … Continued
After all the detail in the Fox Sparrow and Frost’s Bolete painting, I thought I’d do some more crazy fish.
Crested Coua are spectacularly beautiful birds from Madagascar. In this case it was from the Toledo Zoo’s bird house. It fails a little as a pencil drawing because you miss the spectacular purples, pale blues and aqua colors around the eyes. This … Continued
Fox Sparrows are beautiful and entertaining birds. I tend to see them only in the spring and fall, but when I do get a peek at them, I always get excited. They are chunky birds with beautiful color and a fun habit of … Continued
Long -tailed Duck is a bird that we don’t see too often in central Michigan, so it generates excitement when they do show up. I remember seeing them in fairly large numbers on Jones Beach on Long Island in the winter. My aunt and … Continued
Yes, another Jumping Spider! I can’t get enough of these endearing arthropods. I’m looking forward to seeing them again this spring. Occasionally I’ll come across one in the house in the winter and wonder what the little guy is finding … Continued
Eiders are fascinating birds, and I’ve long wanted to paint them. Common Eiders are the only ones I’ve seen in the wild so far. Sadly, they were too far away for me to get a workable photograph. I’ve sketched a … Continued
This bird is a great example of why they use scientific names with a genus and species. It has at least three common names: Violet-backed Starling, Plum-colored Starling and Amethyst Starling. Granted, they are pretty spectacular, so maybe one name … Continued