pencil drawings

Pronghorn sketches & photo: First Friday Art

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Here are a few pronghorn sketches I did while working on one of my books. I was going to include a pronghorn doe as a character, but decided to remove her from the manuscript. I already had a lot of animal characters. Don’t worry, she’ll show up in a future book or story.

pronghorn sketches

I’m also including a photo of two pronghorn does in Yellowstone National Park. They are such graceful creatures.

two pronghorn does

If you want to learn more about pronghorns, check out one of my previous posts.

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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Eye drawings and paintings: FFA

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Today I’m sharing eye drawings and paintings. The first three show pencil sketches of human eyes; the second three show paintings of animal eyes done with acrylics.

Pencil drawings

In the first drawing, I tried to convey a person who is bright and inquisitive. Slight changes in how open the eye is and the position of the eyebrow can change the emotions you are trying to portray.

eye drawings and paintings

In the next drawing, I show the eye of a person who is sad and anxious.

eye drawings and paintings

In the last drawing I started out trying to portray someone laughing, but I think it turned into a slightly mysterious, Mona Lisa-type smiling expression.

pencil sketch of eye

Acrylic paintings

The next photo shows a close up of an Australian shepherd I painted on a rock with acrylics. Though I could have added more shading to the eyes, I decided not to. The expression could be seen as startled or alert.

Australian shepherds’ hauntingly blue eyes often are referred to as “ghost eyes.” Here’s a quote from Dogster about this feature:

“According to legend, Native Americans considered them sacred animals whose unique eyes linked them to the spirit world. Other legends speak of heterochromatic dogs as being able to view heaven and earth simultaneously.”

Here is a close-up of one of my current dog’s eyes. Her other eye is predominantly brown, so she has heterochromatic eyes. Now I understand why she sees things in a unique way. 🙂

Close up of dog

The next painting shows a close up of a fox rock I painted. On this rock, I added a light color on the bottom of the eye and darker color near the top eyelid. This adds depth to the eyes and shows the fox’s sly personality.

fox painting

The last painting shows a close up of a lion’s eyes. On this painting, I added a thick black line around the eyes. This “eyeliner” effect pulls your attention to the eyes. They give this lion a powerful presence.

eye drawings and paintings

I hope these eye drawings and paintings show you different ways you can portray a person or an animal’s personality.

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

First Friday Art (FFA)

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Rattlesnake drawings & photos: First Friday Art

/ SoyBend / 5 Comments

Today I’m sharing a few rattlesnake drawings and a couple of recent photos I took. I did these drawings when I was working on a writing a character in a book. When I draw a character, it helps with my writing.

Rattlesnake drawings

Roca, the rattlesnake character, gets his power from thundereggs. Thundereggs are the official state rock in Oregon. As of this year, they have been designated as the state rock for 60 years.

Here’s a photo of a giant one that I had cut in half. I found it at the Priday Polka-Dot Agate Beds, located near Madras. Read more about this amazing site here.

Thunderegg cut in half

Anyway… back to rattlesnakes. While participating in a workshop through Playa at Summer Lake, we stopped at Abert Lake. At the north end of the lake, we saw not one, not two, but three rattlesnakes rattling their rattles. Here’s one of them.

Great Basin rattlesnake

In Oregon, there are two subspecies of Western rattlesnakes. The one pictured above is a Great Basin rattlesnake, Crotalus oreganus lutosus. The other subspecies is the Northern Pacific rattlesnake, Crotalus oreganus.

Here’s another snake nearby.

snake in the grass

We may have seen three snakes in close proximity because they denned together over the winter and recently emerged. Reptiles have a hard time regulating their body temperature. In the winter, they gather together and go into a kind of suspended animation called “brumation.”

Though people may fear them, it should be remembered snakes play an important role in maintaining the balance in ecosystems. They play a significant role in controlling rodent populations.

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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Happy Hyopsodus 3 ways: First Friday Art

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While visiting Wyoming, I noticed the interesting pose of this happy Hyopsodus wortmani fossil at one of our stops. To me, it looked like a dog asleep on its back.

Extinct small mammal

I thought I’d try to draw what it may have looked like based on the fossil. The first drawing is in pencil.

Happy Hyopsodus drawing

The second one is pen and ink, drawn with a dip pen with a pointed nib tip dipped in ink.

happy Hyopsodus

On the last one, I added a light wash of acrylic paint.

painting

You may have noticed the Hyopsodus I drew is smiling. Do mammals smile?

Here’s a recent picture of one of my dogs, hogging both dog beds. You be the judge. 😉

bed hog dog

Check out the happy Hyopsodus and many other amazing fossils at Fossil Butte National Monument in Kemmerer, Wyoming.

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

First Friday Art (FFA)

Eagle drawing & photo: FFA & BOTW

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This month, I’m sharing an eagle drawing I created. This is a pencil sketch of Rapaz Nube, the evil character in one of the books I’m working on. Rapaz Nube translates as “Cloud Raptor.” He shifts shape and is always harassing the main character, Melodía. She and her companions go on a quest to return water to a parched land.

Eagle sketch

I’m also sharing a photograph I took of a Golden Eagle on its nest near Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. This nest is in the same area where my fictional novel takes place.

Raptor on nest

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

First Friday Art (FFA)

Bird of the Week (BOTW)

Killdeer sketches and photos: First Friday Art

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Here are a few killdeer pencil sketches I did while watching them in the field.

Killdeer sketches

These shorebirds always let you know they are there with their distinctive kill-deer call. Here’s one calling near Sizzling Basin at Yellowstone National Park.

furry & feathered, killdeer at Yellowstone National Park

In the photo below, you can see a killdeer defending its nest from ornithologist Pepper Trail at Summer Lake, Oregon. I circled it to make it easier to see.

Continue reading →

White-faced Ibis drawing & photos: FFA

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This is a pencil sketch I drew of a White-faced Ibis. He is a character in a book I’m working on. The ibis, Arco Iris, gets his power from the rainbow obsidian stone he wears. Sometimes if you draw a character, it helps you write about their personality and physical traits.

White-faced Ibis drawing

I recently took pictures of White-faced Ibis in a field near Paisley, Oregon. The field was full of blue camas and it gave the scene a kind of magical feeling.

Ibis in a field

When you think of ibis, you may think of ancient depictions of this bird found in Egypt, but there are three species in the United States. You can find Glossy Ibis, White Ibis, and White-faced Ibis in parts of North America, Central America, and South America.

Inlay depicting Thoth as the ibis with a maat feather. Image source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

The plumage of our local ibis looks black at first, but when you take a closer look, it’s iridescent. Their feathers catch the light as they plunge their long beaks into marshes and meadows in search of prey. They eat a variety of prey including insects, worms, and small fish. Ibis are particularly fond of crayfish.

Birds in a field

When in breeding plumage, some of the White-faced Ibis’ feathers turn a bronze color, their legs turn pink, and a mask of pale white skin around their eyes appears. What better way to attract a mate than putting on a mask, pink leggings, and a bronze cape!

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

First Friday Art (FFA)

Peregrine falcon drawing, photo, video: First Friday Art

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Here’s a pencil drawing I did of a peregrine falcon guarding its prey. I have been fascinated by falcons ever since I read accounts of Genghis Kahn hunting with them. Some of my earliest crayon drawings are of mounted riders carrying falcons. This site describes the 6,000-year old Mongolian tradition and features photos of falconers on horseback.

Peregrine falcon Siobhan Sullivan

On our trip to Ireland in March 2020, we looked forward to participating in the Dingle Falconry Experience in County Kerry. Trained owls and hawks briefly perch on your gloved hand before flying to the next participant.

This photo shows their peregrine falcon feeding after its flight. The falcon was only handled by the trainer, Andi Chewning.

Dingle Falconry Experience
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Hummers – sketches & photo: First Friday Art

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Today I’m sharing pencil sketches I did of hummers in action. I’m also including a photo of a hummingbird hovering over a border planting in a garden. These very active birds are difficult to capture with a pencil or a lens.

Hummers in action

Did you know their heart can beat faster than 1,200 beats per minute? However, when food is scarce hummingbirds go into torpor, which is similar to hibernation. Their heart rate drops to as low as 50 beats per minute. Hummers are amazing birds!

Hummingbird 14Aug2016

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First Friday Art

Red panda sketches & photos: First Friday Art

/ SoyBend / 8 Comments

Here are a few pencil sketches of a red panda I drew at a zoo. These animals are most active at dawn and dusk and when they’re asleep, they appear to sleep soundly. It’s nice to draw a critter who stays in one place for long periods of time. 🙂

Red panda sketches

This endangered species lives in a relatively small area of western Nepal, east into China. As shown in my photos below, bamboo is one of their favorite foods. With their dense, colorful fur coats and “cute” features, they make quite an impression on zoo visitors.

Chewing bamboo
Content chewer
Red panda up close

Their biggest threats in the wild include habitat degradation, hunting, and poaching. For more about red pandas, and to donate towards their conservation, visit Red Panda Network.

Do you have artwork you would like to share? If so, include a First Friday Art tag on your post.

The elegance of terns: First Friday Art

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I have always been impressed by the elegance of terns. Terns in flight have pointed wingtips and some species have deeply forked tails. Today I’m sharing a stylized pencil sketch I did of a Forster’s tern. These wetland birds can be spotted in much of North America at certain times of the year.

the elegance of terns

Here are a few Caspian terns I saw at The Narrows in Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, south of Burns, Oregon. They don’t have the black-tipped bill and forked tail of Forster’s terns, but still have the elegance of ferns.

Caspian terns

Do you have artwork you would like to share? If so, include a First Friday Art tag on your post.

If you’re looking for something artistic to do this month, consider participating in Inktober. Create a pen-and-ink drawing every day for a month based on prompts. Fun and challenging!

American kestrel study in pencil: First Friday Art

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American kestrel study

This month, for First Friday Art, I’m sharing an American kestrel study I drew in pencil. When I took an ornithology class in college we learned about anatomy by studying specimens in a museum.

These sketches helped me learn more about birds, but they also turned out to be great tools for future works of art. I have referred back to them when working on pen-and-inks and paintings.

Here’s a photo of an American kestrel I saw in Malheur National Forest last year. They have beautiful coloring.

Kestrel in Malheur National Forest, Oregon April 2019

Do you have some artwork you would like to share? Use the First Friday Art tag.

Grizzly Drawings – pencil and pen & ink: First Friday Art

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I’m sharing grizzly drawings for First Friday Art this month. I found this pencil drawing tucked away in a forgotten file drawer. This bear, in a typical bear pose, is feasting on a salmon.

Bear drawing in pencil by Siobhan Sullivan. September 2020

When I flipped the pencil drawing over, I found this on the back. I forgot it was there! The fur is not drawn realistically, but this stylized pen-and-ink is interesting. The bear looks so content.

Grizzly drawings by Siobhan Sullivan. September 2020

Maybe I’ll let these grizzly drawings out of their lonely drawer and do something with them. There must be an empty wall somewhere…

Do you have some artwork you would like to share? Use the First Friday Art tag.