When life gives you lemons, draw them, 11 x 14 inches dry pastels, graphite on paper

"When life gives you lemons, draw them." (Nikki)

"Color! What a deep and mysterious language." (Paul Gauguin)

animals

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Fruit Bats, Adelaide Australia

Monday, January 18th, 2021


 

Fruit Bats, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper
Fruit Bats, Adelaide Botanic Gardens, South Australia – 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper. One of my most memorable experiences of all time was seeing the thousands of fruit bats in Adelaide. On a hot day at sunset we sat and watched them skim across the river, fly back to a tree, settle on a branch and lick the water off their fur.

Cedar Waxwings

Thursday, January 14th, 2021


 

Cedar Waxwings, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper
Cedar Waxwings in the Red-Hot Poker flowers, seed heads forming… Hillsboro, OR. 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper.

I’ve seen this only twice, for just one or two mornings during Spring when the Red-Hot Poker flowers are at their peak. This is why I have my camera handy at all times. Wings fluttering, the birds would lose their balance and change positions as the tall stocks bent from their weight, hovering briefly to sip the nectar of the fresh flower buds. Last summer I watched Cedar Waxwings hovering beside branches to eat tree berries, and on another occasion, flying out to catch bugs in mid-air. Some things you only see once, and it feels so special to be in the right place at the right time.

Prairie Dogs, Drumheller, AB

Wednesday, January 6th, 2021


 

Prairie Dogs, Drumheller, AB - 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper
Prairie Dogs, also called gophers, the Badlands Hoodoos near Drumheller, Alberta Canada. 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper. Framed size 27H x 33W inches.

The geography in this area of Alberta is incredible, and the gophers are so very much a part of prairie ecology. They are cute to be sure, but they dig their homes in fields and are a nuisance to farmers whose horses and cattle can trip and break their ankles and legs.

You know Spring has finally arrived when the roads and highways are littered with gopher roadkill. In Torrington, Alberta, one lady has found a creative way to manage that. You must visit The World-Famous Gopher Hole Museum located in the middle of nowhere, in a small prairie hamlet where there is not even a gas station, barely noticeable along a seemingly endless dusty gravel road. Gophers are stuffed, sporting handmade costumes and placed in small cubicles displaying historic scenes. Completely bizarre, but actually very well done and absolutely worth the trip.

Feeding Cockatoos, Apollo Bay, Australia

Sunday, January 3rd, 2021


 

Feeding Cockatoos, Apollo Bay, Australia - 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper
Feeding Cockatoos, Apollo Bay, along the Great Ocean Road, Australia – 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on 90 lb watercolor paper.

Feeding Cockatoos, work progression phases 01through 05

 

Zebras at Fossil Rim

Thursday, November 19th, 2020


 

Zebras at Fossil Rim Wildlife Park, TX - 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper

Zebras at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose, Texas – 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper

Fossil Rim is a wonderful drive-through park, dedicated to conservation, research, training and education. You may be greeted by guanacos, zebras and ostrich, and can take your own time, but there are also guided tours.

Golden Lion Tamarin

Sunday, November 8th, 2020


 

Golden Lion Tamarin, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper

Golden Lion Tamarin at the Dallas World Aquarium, Texas – 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on 90 lb watercolor paper.

These sweet little primates are only about 10 inches and 1.5 lb full-grown. They are considered an endangered species, with an estimated 3,200 confined to areas of tropical rainforest in southeastern Brazil.

Swallows’ Nest

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2020


 

Swallows Nest, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper

Swallows’ Nest at Dosewallips State Park rest area, Hwy 101 WA – 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper. Framed size 27H x 33W inches, white wood frame, crackle finish.

Sleepy Sun Bear

Friday, October 30th, 2020


 

Sleepy Sun Bear, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper

Sleepy Sun Bear, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper.

Asian Sun Bear, Fort Worth Zoo, TXI took some great photos of this sun bear soaking up the sun on a warm winter day at the Fort Worth Zoo in Texas – what a character. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the Asian Sun Bear as vulnerable because the population has declined by 35% in the past 30 years.

Australian White Ibis

Wednesday, October 28th, 2020


 

Australian White Ibis, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper

Australian White Ibis, Brisbane city Botanic Gardens, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper

Duck Silhouettes

Friday, October 9th, 2020


 

Duck Silhouettes, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on 90 lb watercolor paper

Duck Silhouettes, Rood Bridge Park, Hillsboro OR – 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on 90 lb watercolor paper

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