Studio Tuesday Blog

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. Salamander hunting in the woods nearby my house. I found this salamander, and several more like it, in a shallow creek under rocks. From looking through my field guides, I think it is a Northern Two-Lined Salamander. Below, a fun little labeled chart I drew of some various North American salamanders. Its measures 8x10 inches, drawn in India ink and watercolors. 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 CardsI 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

A new watercolor and ink illustration of a little boathouse on Vinalhaven island off the coast of Maine. We saw this charming little boathouse on a morning ferry ride out to the island. I loved the little fish weathervane and the stilts to accommodate the large tide shifts of the area.   'Vinalhaven Boathouse'11x14 illustration - watercolor and India ink Below, a couple photos from our ferry trip over to the island, which included some very dense patches of fog. Above, fog and little spits of land and pines as we approached the island. Below, a sea of lobster buoys as we got close to the Vinalhaven harbor, there is quite a large lobster fishing community on the island.You can find prints of this illustration in my shop. Link below!Vinalhaven Maine Art Print