Maine boathouse landscape

A new watercolor and ink illustration. This one is of a little boathouse on Vinalhaven island off the coast of Maine. We took the ferry out to the island very early, and hit some dense patches of fog, which was very pretty. Large tidal areas and little spits of land full of pines. Lots of lobster fishing here, a good percentage of the island's population are lobstermen.

It's fun drawing complex subjects in this style. Landscapes are an interesting challenge. This one is 11x14", on the larger side for me.


Prints in the shop: Boathouse illustration

Below: Detail of the boathouse and the unique weather vane.

Northern Lights Illustration

A new illustration of the Northern Lights and an Arctic Fox. I tend to work pretty fast, but was one of those pieces that stayed in the studio for a while. It took a bit of work to get the sky looking right.

The Northern Lights remind me of Christmas, so the idea was always for this one to be a Christmas Card.

Northern Lights Christmas Cards
Northern Lights Print

Owl illustrations

Yesterday I spent the day drawing owls. So I added a couple new things to the 100 Owls Shop.

The first is a Barn Owl print. This one has a field full of haystacks and a starry sky. Haystacks are quite fun to draw.

The other is a Snowy Owl Christmas card. It's simple and fun, a Snowy Owl and falling snow.

Starfish watercolor

Just a fun starfish illustration.

Original starfish illustration watercolor and gouache. 2012 

Pirate Ship Illustration

I just added a new 11x14" print in my Etsy Shop. It's a fun illustration with a pirate ship and all sorts of sea animals.

My sister in law is an interior designer and I drew this for a kid's pirate room she is putting together, I will post more about that later - hopefully with some cool pictures.

Pirate Ship Illustration Print on Etsy

Here are some details.

Flags, sails, and a jolly roger

 The sea creatures include lots of fish, whale flukes, sharks, jellyfish, an octopus and turtle!

Killer Whale illustration

This is the first of a little series of Arctic animal illustrations.
A killer whale and fish in an icy ocean, complete with snow and icebergs.

Up in my shop: Killer Whale illustration
The whole series will be available to buy in one set when I'm finished!

Bird Eggs Drawing

This was a little sketch I had lying around, I decided to finish it up and watercolor it. It is a collection of seabird eggs. Included are Terns, Gulls, Puffin, Murre, and Guillemot eggs

Print on Etsy

Snowy Coast Christmas Card

I spent the weekend inking various projects including another Christmas card, which I also managed to finish watercoloring. I'm pleased with how this one turned out as well, they are fun little scenes to imagine and create.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/83490055/snowy-christmas-card-with-lighthouse-and

Fossils and Dinosaurs

This Labor Day I took a trip to the Bay and looked for fossils and shark teeth. The highlights were a 1" Mako tooth (large tooth in bottom center) and a similar sized Sand Tiger. Not a terrible trip compared to my others from this summer.

On a similar topic I had fun making this collection of Dinosaur items on Etsy last night. The last few years I have become increasingly interested in the things I was interested in as a kid, dinosaurs being included.

Dinosaur Treasury - full view

Euoplocephalus lino... minouette $26.00	Nautilus design Ame... TypsyGypsyTees $20.00	Fossil Sharks Teeth... midnightcoiler $15.00
Triceratops Print twoems $26.00	Triceratops, Dinosa... TheWordShop $12.95	Original Origami Tr... ShukiKato $25.00
Art Original Illust... megashark $50.00	8x10 Stegosaurus Pr... trendypeas $24.00	Field Museum Chicag... geministudio $260.00
Champ the Plesiosau... nonesuchgarden $80.00	Black Sun T-Rex Din... SeeChangeDesig... $20.00	t-rex nursery art. ... lulufroot $20.00
4" Megalodon T... theladyoflette... $45.00	The Nautilus - 1st ... minouette $28.00	FREE SHIPPING Dinos... SissyLittle $89.99

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Troublesome Owl Illustrations

My new project over at 100owls.com is going well. Slow, but steady. Owls, i've found, are fairly difficult to draw. Here are two new illustrations.

After I thought this illustration was finished (but not completely happy with it) it sat for over a month before I picked it up again and reworked parts of it. I think it's one of my favorites now, I'm especially happy with the depth and color.


The Great Grey Owl was tough to figure out how to draw in this style. But otherwise this one went smoothly. I started watercoloring this piece not exactly knowing what I wanted it to look like - usually this means I would be starting it over. After a few light washes I liked how it looked and quit. The snow added the rest. Sometimes spatter, texture, and weather can make or break the illustration.

Also a new shop!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/100owls

An extension of my main Etsy shop, this one is for all my owls.

Sandpipers watercolor illustration

New watercolor illustration in the shop!
Available as a print too.

Fox and Moon Watercolor Illustration

A new watercolor illustration. These night scenes are pretty fun to paint. Happy with how these colors came out.

In Etsy Shop

Ocean and Seashore Illustrated Alphabet

Here is the finished alphabet!

In my shop as an 8x10" Print.
Large 11x14" print will be available soon!

Octopus Garden Illustration

New illustration of a busy octopus garden. With sounds. This one was fun to draw.

Wolf Paintings

The other evening i was taking a walk and saw a red fox trotting through the woods and across an old road. This new sighting has only fueled my new obsession with wolves and foxes.

I think one of the hardest things about painting wildlife, especially foxes and wolves, is not making a cheesy painting. Here's a couple really nice (and not cheesy) wolf paintings that have been inspiring me.

The Black Wolf of the Currumpaw (1894) by Ernest Thompson Seton

This one was painted by Danna Ray, a fellow artist selling on Etsy. Take a look at her awesome work here: http://www.dannaray.com/


This one just makes me really happy.

Carolina Wren

I painted this watercolor of a Carolina Wren over the weekend. They are funny little birds. I watched one this morning on an old well and stone wall, peeking its head into every little nook and crevice. Sometimes it looks like they dart around exploring just for fun.

Also, they sound like a tiny squeak toy being rapidly squeezed.

This is a photo I took last winter of one.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/60986542/5x7-print-carolina-wren-watercolor

Ocean Creature Series

I just finished this series of fun little ocean creatures. These were fun mini watercolors to paint and very minimal planning was involved. I started doodling in little 3x3" squares which became these paintings.
I drew stuff like this a lot when I was a kid, especially sharks and anemones.

Fishing Lures

I made this ink and watercolor doodle last night of my collection of fishing lures. I think they are such odd and fun little objects. I like how this one turned out a lot. I think I'll try to do more drawings like this.

Here's an older watercolor of one too.