King Stropharia Soil

This was my submission for the 2025 Common Ground Fair Poster and it was an honor to be one of 10 finalists! King Stropharia Soil: (Also known as wine caps, garden giants) These edible mushrooms break down organic matter, building rich soil and can also improve soil texture which helps prevent erosion. They attract earthworms while helping to manage nematodes that can cause root damage.

Flower Inspired

I’m starting a new series that will focus on my love for flowers and attracting pollinators to my garden. There will be a calendar released with the final images.

Old Growth

My latest drawing illustrates a forest scene filled with mushrooms. There is said to be a symbiotic relationship between certain woodpeckers and fungi. Mushrooms help soften the wood for excavating sites and in return, the birds disperse them and also help by consuming spore eating insects. The sites are then used as homes by other wildlife.

Red- Winged Blackbirds

I’ve been experimenting with turning some of my drawings into digital illustrations. This is a recent Spring themed ink drawing of Red-Winged Blackbirds and two color versions.

Monarchs and Milkweed

My latest piece is the first of a new series that will focus on symbiotic relationships in nature and pollinators. Milkweed is the host plant of monarch caterpillars. They eat the leaves which contain toxins that make them inedible to predators. Monarch butterflies then feed on milkweed flower nectar - pollinating them and continuing their survival. I highly recommend the documentary “Flight of the Butterflies” if you’d like to learn more about the amazing monarch!

FAVORITE WORKS IV

Grace Arnold Albee - Entangled Tractor

Grace Arnold Albee - Entangled Tractor

Joseph Stella - Tree of My Life

Joseph Stella - Tree of My Life

Viktor Vasnetsov - Oleg Meets Wizard

Viktor Vasnetsov - Oleg Meets Wizard

Sketchbook

I created a new page on my site today showing the work I've been doing in my Moleskine sketchbook as well as smaller pieces of paper. I LOVE Moleskine books and didn't start using one until recently. The paper is so lovely and can really hold some watercolor as well as gouache. Ink flows easily on them as well. There is also something so wonderful about just holding a book in your hands to keep anything you wish... recipes, lyrics, poems, thoughts, whatever! I can't recommend them enough. 

 

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favorite works III

Antoni Gaudi - Sagrada Familia

Antoni Gaudi - Sagrada Familia

Gustave Doré - Plate from 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner'

Gustave Doré - Plate from 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner'

Florence Susan Harrison - An image from 'The Poems of Christina Rossetti'

Florence Susan Harrison - An image from 'The Poems of Christina Rossetti'

☾ Hunter's moon ☽

A Northern Long Eared Owl I recently finished. It was fun to play around with a lot of textures and patterns in this one.

A Northern Long Eared Owl I recently finished. It was fun to play around with a lot of textures and patterns in this one.

The Pollinators

This recent illustration is called "The Pollinators" and it represents one of the most critical influences on the environment- pollination. Bats and bees, as well as many other pollinators are vital to our food supply and are under threat which…

This recent illustration is called "The Pollinators" and it represents one of the most critical influences on the environment- pollination. Bats and bees, as well as many other pollinators are vital to our food supply and are under threat which is a gigantic problem for healthy food sources that affect animals, insects, plants, humans... planet earth. Climate change, pesticide use, changes in land use are all are mainly to blame for this growing concern. Bats pollinate over 500 species of plants worldwide including many tropical fruits. Bees are nature's most efficient pollinating workhorses. A link to more information on this subject and individual steps you can take to help this important cause:  ⇟

https://www.fws.gov/pollinators/pollinatorpages/yourhelp.html