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Pick an animal to appear in a new deck of animal cards!
December 13th, 2009

We are looking for input on the final animal to be included in our deck of animals cards scheduled for completion in early 2010. Click the link to go to my Facebook page to cast your vote (I think you have to add the Poll app to see the page). The current options are Eastern Chipmunk, Eastern Mole, or Meadow Vole. Don't worry, we have 51 other animals, we're just looking for that last one for the deck...


You can now find me on Facebook
October 19th, 2009

Perhaps this is of relative insignificance, but I've finally created a Facebook page. It won't have any content that won't be posted here but everyone's supposed to have one, right? Just click on the Facebook link to the left to be magically transported.


Botanical Illustration
October 19th, 2009

Carex4
Botanical Illustration

Where is that "Rich" guy?
First off, let me apologize for the extended absence from my website. I am still alive and yes, I am still drawing. I have been fortunate to have picked up a couple of projects that are keeping me busy with very little free time for the last several months. I'll talk a bit more about them in upcoming posts but wanted to provide a brief update on what I'm working on and why.

Botanical Illustration
I was approached at the end of 2008 (see posts below for the approximate point where I disappeared) by a botanist from the University of Montana who was looking for an illustrator for a book project he was working on. He had worked with a couple of other illustrators in town and was interested in people with drawing skills and an interest in plants. I freely admitted that my knowledge of plants was fairly limited but I was a sucker for punishment. He recommended we arrange a meeting to talk about the project and what he was looking for.

We discussed the project in detail and it sounded like a great opportunity to 1) expand my knowledge of the flora of Montana, 2) get back to some scientific illustration similar to what I loved doing in the early 90's, and 3) pick up a technical pen again for the first time in over 15 years.

The project is being funded by the US Forest Service and will document numerous vascular plants in Montana. There are a gazillion illustrations for the book and I signed on for the final 18-months of work. I have been working feverishly to be ahead of the deadline so there will be plenty of time for revisions, changes, or additions prior to going to press. So far I have really enjoyed the work and have learned a lot about numerous genera of plants. I am hopeful that this experience can go towards other types of botanical illustration and possibly future projects.

Technical Aspects
As for the actual project work, I ended up adopting a two-stage approach where I draw fairly refined pencil drawings of each of the species. This is done in a nice drawing book from Canson. The paper allows me to draw fairly quickly but easily allows for fine details. Once these drawings are completed, I transfer the outlines to a bristol paper. After trying out about 10 different papers I settled on Strathmore 500 Series Vellum. It works great with pen & ink and I'm using it for more pencil illustrations now. I had some of this paper on hand but I have to admit that cartoonist Tom Richmond really demonstrates why it is so useful for pen & ink.

The shading is done with stippling which is totally different than pencil work. Not only is it far more time-consuming, it also requires you to use the appropriate pen nib size. I frequently rely on a 0.25mm technical pen (Rapidograph for those geeks out there) as it is very durable and can withstand the constant tap-tap-tapping caused by the thousands of tiny little dots.

Project Status
I am approaching the two-thirds point with this project and am starting to feel like I am recapturing my love of pen & ink as well as learning a ton about plants. Oh, for those who've never taken a botany course in college or read a scientific journal, the technical jargon for various plant parts are simply mystifying. I'm not versed in Latin nor in botany so I keep my dictionary handy to look up "hard words".

I've created a separate Botanical Illustration page on my Drawings page and will figure out how to incorporate it into the navigation bar just below the main tab bar of the site. The four 'Carex' drawings are the most recent illustrations and begin to show true stippling techniques and will resemble the majority of remaining illustrations. The drawings may at some point be offered as prints and the finished book including my illustrations along with the two other artists will be available sometime next year.

Thanks for your patience in continuing to check on my website and I promise to post another update soon discussing the other project I'm working on.


Peregrine Falcon Study in Black and White
July 7th, 2009

Peregrine Study BW
Peregrine Falcon in B&W

I must be on a bird kick, recently. Here is yet another bird study, this time of a peregrine falcon named Sibley. This smaller study (4" x 4.5") was done in graphite and meant to compliment the color study I completed earlier this year.


Pronghorn Study
July 7th, 2009

Pronghorn Study
Pronghorn Study

I believe I inadvertently omitted this drawing earlier. My apologies. I really enjoy watching pronghorns running across the grasslands of Montana and I tried to show a bit of the unique cranial details in this study. They are a unique species (literally as well as figuratively) and you can find out more by clicking on the thumbnail.


Song Sparrows
June 1st, 2009

Song Sparrows
Song Sparrows

I discovered a small Song Sparrow hopping around in the grass at a nearby duck pond and stopped to watch him searching for a morning snack in the grass. I couldn't resist using the little fellow for a pose atop a fence post to serve as the harbinger of Spring and warmer weather in western Montana.


Higgins Bridge
April 24th, 2009

Cliff Swallows
Higgins Bridge

Back at the drawing board full time for this newest piece. It feels good to get some serious drawing time in over the Spring. I ran across this scene while walking about Missoula's river walk this winter. I was struck by the sparce, yet powerful graphical nature of the bridge structure against the stark white sky. I really enjoyed exploring the various textures in the steel of the bridge stucture. These hard, angular lines contrast perfectly with the graceful arching lines of the swallows. This is sort of the perfect man-made archictecture versus natural elements.


A little watercolor work
December 16th, 2008

Peregrine Falcon Study
Peregrine Falcon

Well, the title for this entry should actually read "A little watercolor work and some colored pencil" but that seems to complicate things a bit. This is a small study (3" x 3 1/2") of a peregrine falcon named "Sibley". She's the bird-friend of Kate Davis who runs the Raptors of the Rockies, a non-profit raptor education project here in western Montana.

Kate is quite the artist in her own right and has recently published a wonderful book, Falcons of North America. I had the opportunity to visit with Kate and Sibley while they were in Missoula for the Montana Festival of the Book back on October. I took a ton of photos while Kate was giving her talk (Why can't they make a near-silent digital SLR camera?!).

I have some additional sketches of Sibley planned in the near future as soon as I can open my new watercolor paints on Christmas!


Notecards Available!
February 11, 2008

Made in Montana Notecard

I am pleased to announce that I am now able to sell notecards of some of my drawings. They are available for order here. I have 10 available cards.

They are $3.00 each. I hope you enjoy them!

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Last Update: December 13, 2009


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