Illustrations

Narwhal Basics

Narwhals are a type of whale, most closely related to belugas. They live in the Arctic by the ice cap and sea ice, and are one of the few whale species that live year round there. You are probably already aware of their unique feature, a single spiraled tusk that sticks out of the front of their head (like a unicorn!). Narwhals are a bit of a mystery to us - they spend most of their time under sea ice, making them a little hard to study and observe.
Below are some fun narwhal facts (for kids or you kids at heart!) illustrated with some of my drawings and doodles.

Top image: 3 narwhals swimming under sea ice in the Arctic. Watercolor and India Ink.

What's in a name?

The word Narwhal has its origins in Old Norse and Scandinavian languages. The Old Norse word nāhvalr is translated as corpse whale, named because the coloring of narwhals reminded sailors of a drowned body. Creepy!

The Inuit word for Narwhal is a little more poetic; Qilalugaq gernertaq is translated as “the one point to the sky". Named for the behavior of pointing their tusks towards the sky as they come up for air at holes in the polar ice pack.



Their scientific name, Monodon monceros, is Greek in origin. It means one-tooth one-horn (unicorn).

Fun Narwhal facts

Narwhals change colors as they age. Babies are a blueish grey. Juveniles are a darker blueish black. As they become adults their skin changes to a blotchy gray. As they age they become lighter and older narwhals are almost completely white.


Narwhals can live to around 50 years old.

Narwhals live in pods, usually a group of 20 or less narwhals. However during summer migration these pods come together and form "super pods" which can contain hundreds or even over a thousand narwhals.

Narwhals eat shrimp, squid, and fish such as halibut and cod.

Narwhals are very vocal, they communicate with clicks, squeals, and other noises - similar to dolphins.

The Narwhal's "Horn"

The Narwhal's tusk is actually a tooth that grows out of the jaw and through the upper lip. It grows in a spiral and can reach almost 9 feet.

Male narwhals have tusks. The occasional female will have a tusk, but most don't.

Occasionally a male narwhal will have 2 tusks.

Whats are the narwhal's tusk for? It's a bit of a mystery, but it is probably used to attract mates and possibly to sometimes to fight over mates. The tusk also contains nerve endings which can help the narwhal sense things about its surroundings. The narwhal's tusk probably has multiple purposes.


Sources: World Wildlife Fund, WWF Canada, Encyclopedia of Life, National Marine Mammal Labratory - NOAA, Encyclopedia Britannica, The American Society of Mammalogists, Merriam-Webster


Read More Illustrated Animal Facts

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In the Shop

Another illustration for my dinosaur series. This one is a Triceratops in a rocky landscape scene with a red sun, sparse conifers and a couple flying Pterosaurs in the distant sky.

Several months ago Melissa from the Fawn Over Baby blog wrote about her baby boy's new Alaskan inspired nursery. Take a look! It's quite a handsome little room and I'm flattered to have a piece of artwork included. I created a custom vertical version of my Arctic alphabet print for her (now available as a print option in my shop). Below are a couple pictures of the nursery and framed print.


My Arctic alphabet print, in the vertical format, 11x14". Photo by Fawn Over Baby


Another photo of her Alaskan nursery. Photo by Fawn Over Baby


You can find 11x14" and 13x19" prints of my Arctic alphabet in my shop here: Illustrated Arctic Alphabet Print



I'm building up a pretty good collection of Arctic animal illustrations as well. Orcas, narwhals, polar bears, foxes, snowy owls, weasels and more! I love drawing snow and ice so it's one of my favorite habitats to illustrate. Check them all out in my Arctic collection.

Another new illustration in my dinosaur series. This one is a colorful Stegosaurus in a Jurassic landscape drawn in whimsical black lines. Other details include an orange sun, a fallen log at the water's edge, conifers, and more Stegosaurus in the distance.





Above is a 11x14" Print, now available in the shop, along with some other sizes. Link below!
Stegosaurus Art Print

 

A new illustration in my dinosaur series is finished! A Diplodocus, a Sauropod from the Jurassic period, surrounded by pines and conifers. I'm pushing my use of color a bit in this series and I'm liking the mix of greens with the soft dusky purple sky in this piece - a color combination I haven't used often.



Although these illustrations are very stylized and simple, I am doing a bit of research beforehand on their anatomy and behavior. I think this helps with drawing something that isn't generic.
I'm also having fun imagining and drawing the Prehistoric landscapes for these dinosaurs to live in. Lots of ferns and conifers!


Above, an example of a framed 8x10" print, available in other sizes as well!
You can find them in the shop here:
Cute Sauropods Art Print

New Otter Art Print

My newest illustration is of a swimming River Otter, an animal I especially love. The Weasel family, which includes otters, have been a favorite of mine since learning about them in elementary school.
This was made from a doodle i drew last October. The illustration features a Otter floating in a river and includes an underwater dimension, a stone lined river bank, icicles, and falling snow.

Sometimes these drawings seem to take a lot of work, studying the animals and figuring out how to convey them in simple lines and shapes. Sometimes it takes multiple sketches, altering and redoing drawings (this Pine Marten comes to mind) and sometimes, like this otter, they come together easily in one quick go.

I have prints up in the shop, which you can find here: River Otter Art Print

 

Favorite Otter Art

While I'm on the subject I thought I'd talk about some of the otter art I enjoy. Below are a few of my favorites. Included are different otter species, and a range of styles from different artists.

Charley Harper's "Otterly Delicious" features a sea otter painted in his distinctive geometric, graphic style. The otter is floating on it's back, an arm wrapped around a piece of kelp, and chewing on a sand dollar. On it's belly are some other favorite sea otter foods: an orange star fish and sea urchin. This piece is pretty typical of his work, which illustrated wild animals and their behavior, often in interesting and/or humorous ways.
Like many others, I'm quite fond of the unique way he simplified animals and the natural world, especially the sea urchin in this piece. I think this is such a clever way of depicting a difficult subject. The pattern is interesting, fun, and immediately recognizable.

  

Above, Tom Frost's otter stamp screen print. Part of his series of birds and animals of the British Isles, in stamp form! A fun use of geometric pattern and shapes. This is the Eurasian otter, Lutra lutra, which swims in both fresh and salt water and is found throughout Europe and Asia. The otter mug, shown on the right, is available here.







The gestural ink drawing of the otter above is by Sophie Neville. This and her other sketches are drawn from observation of otters she and her family raises. Her drawings capture the otters in their distinctive poses and movements. Its fairly evident from these drawings she's spent a good deal of time observing them and learning about their anatomy. She has some interesting notes on drawing such a tricky subject on her blog, and I would recommend checking it out. You can find the article here.



"Drawing otters is tricky, firstly because they don't stay still for a moment and secondly because our tame otters are so affectionate and inquisitive that they continually want to see what you are doing. The paw prints on the sketch above are not made with paint but with mud from a wet creature who would have made the paper all soggy, given half a chance"

Above, a little excerpt from Sophie's impressions of drawing otters and the muddy sketch she refers to. You can read more about the otters she raises here (one of her otters painted and had an exhibition!).

A little post on salamanders just because they are fun, I love finding them out in nature, and love drawing and painting them. Top image, a little watercolor of a Northern Red Salamander I painted.


The illustration includes a Marbled Salamander, Tiger Salamander, Green Salamander, Northern Red Salamander, Red-spotted Newt, Red Eft, Dusky Salamander, Spotted Salamander, and a Redback Salamander.


You can find prints in my shop here: Salamanders Art Print

This is the third animal illustration I did for the upcoming holiday season this year. A Pine Marten in a snowy evergreen forest.
Sometimes illustrations come together easily and seem to look great without a lot of effort. This was not one of those. It was a tough one to get right, with lots of sketching, revisions, color testing, and three attempts at the illustration. But... I'm finally happy with this end result of one of my favorite animals.


I've had a soft spot for weasels and their kin, since writing a report on them in second grade (Pine Martens are a member of this family). Eventually I will probably end up illustrating all of them. So far I also have a Sea Otter, and a White Weasel.
2016 UPDATE: Now have a Mink and a River Otter as well.

Cards are now available - as a single card or sets of 10.
In the shop here: Pine Marten Holiday Cards

I also have prints available in the shop here:
Pine Marten Art Print

A new illustration for this year's holiday season. A Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus, meaning Sea Bear) swimming in an Arctic Sea with icebergs and falling snow. Drawn with ink and watercolors.
I love thinking up and drawing these little Winter scenes for my cards every year. This was a fun one, something little more nautical and remote than the typical Christmas card.

Holiday Cards now in the shop! Nice, sturdy card stock, and available as a single card or boxed sets of 10 cards.
Link here: Polar Bear Cards

 

Finally finished up a whale shark illustration, one that I've had in my mind for a while now. In Madagascar whale sharks are named Marokintana, which translates to "many stars". This name was the inspiration for this painting. A star covered ocean giant swimming under a star filled sky.
I spent a little more time on the stars in this piece since they were a focus. I used masking fluid to keep the stars white and painted in a little band of the Milky Way (painted in watercolor).

Above, a 13x19" Print of the illustration. You can find this and other sizes in my shop with the link below!
Whale Shark Art Print

A new illustrated alphabet! This one is Arctic themed and features lot of my favorite animals, including a weasel, snowy owl, arctic fox, snowshoe hare, polar bear, and a few
different whales.


Prints available in the shop!
Arctic Alphabet Print