Today I’m sharing a gray squirrel drawing and photo I created. I drew the squirrel with a charcoal pencil.

It’s fun to work with charcoal because you can change its appearance by using different techniques. You can “stump” it by using the side of a charcoal stick, your finger, a chamois cloth, or other materials to spread it. Since it lifts easily from a surface, you can erase or scrape parts of it off. Some artists mix charcoal with water or other liquids .

I’m also sharing a photograph I took of a gray squirrel at Three Island Crossing State Park in Glenns Ferry, Idaho. I like this picture because it looks like the squirrel is giving me a fist bump. The diagonal streams of water from a sprinkler in the background add an interesting detail to the photo.

This is probably an eastern gray squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis. Eastern gray squirrels are native to parts of eastern and central North America. They were introduced into parts of the western United States in the mid 1900s. In Washington state, they are now considered to be “the most common tree squirrels in urban areas.”

Eastern gray squirrels currently occur on several continents around the world. In some of parts of their range, they are an invasive species. This adaptable species displaces native animals, including red squirrels.

Do you have artwork you would like to share? Be sure to include the First Friday Art tag.

First Friday Art 

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