Waterhouse

JW Waterhouse's work simply inthralls me. I have been having a rather bad case of artist's block. I am supposed to be working on several projects for friends but because of several family health issues in the past few weeks and now feeling completely unmotivated I have been having a hard time getting started on the project. So I have turned to the work of extremely talented artists of the past to get me back in the grove.

(sorry for the bad scan...I am hoping to get a bigger scanner soon!)

Benwick's Wren

Benwick's Wren

Thryomanes benwickii

This bird can be seen year-round throughout New Mexico. Insects make up nearly its entire diet. Breeding pairs are very territorial and will defend their chosen territory year-round. So you may not see a lot of these little birds but if you do see a pair you will know that you will get to see them for a long time!

White-Crowned Sparrow

White-Crowned Sparrow

Zonotrichia leucophrys

Depending on the time of the year this bird can be seen throughout the USA. It is a ground feeder bird that eats seeds, berries, and insects. To attract to your yard try putting out millet seed.

Broad-Tailed Hummingbird

Broad-Tailed Hummingbird

Selasphorus playcercus

This lovely little bird can be see during the summer in New Mexico.

Hummingbird food recipe:

Four parts water to one part sugar (ie 4 cups water to 1 cup sugar)

Boil water and mix in sugar until completely dissolved.

Let cool and pour into clean hummingbird feeders. Do NOT add red food dye or buy hummingbird food that has red food dye as many of them are not made from natural dyes and there can shorten the life span of the hummingbirds you are trying to watch! Simply having a feeder with red on it with bring the birds to your yard.

Steller's Jay

Steller's Jay

Cyanocitta stelleri

This lovely bird lives year round in New Mexico. Favorite foods include: cracked corn, striped sunflower seeds, and in-shell peanuts

Burrowing Owl

This past winter I was working on a greeting card series featuring local birds of New Mexico (and some not so local). Though right now the card project got put on hold I thought it would be a shame for the drawings to collect dust in my closet.

The first installment is of a Burrowing Owl, Athene cunicularia. It can be seen most readily during the summer months in New Mexico. These birds nest in underground dens in open fields. Exact numbers of these birds are unknown but it is believed that there are less than 10,000 breeding pairs left in the wild.

I could not decide if I wanted to use color for the cards or just black and white. So you get to see both!

just a quickie

ink wash with charcoal...this is another old sketch. I will be uploading some of my recent work soon (hopefully!)!