yellow coneflower

yellow coneflower

inspiration: After struggling with last month’s painting, I longed for something simpler. I also wanted to remind myself of the basics of watercolor. After googling “endangered flowers,” I found the yellow coneflower in the article “10 endangered plants you can help...
oxpeckers on a zebra

oxpeckers on a zebra

inspiration: I wondered if I could find a photo that showed animals helping each other. Googling took me to this YouTube video, which included this powerful scene WHICH I SUSPECT IS NOT REAL. Thinking about it, I realized I wanted to paint a more believable scene....
Blue Sage grouse

Blue Sage grouse

Inspiration: I entered “animals” and “reinvention” into a Google search and came up with the “romantic notion” of re-wilding. I am, at heart, a romantic, so I love this improbable idea! I went from there to the American Prairie Foundation. One of its core animals is...
two beavers

two beavers

Inspiration I googled “animals that work together” and surfed the results, which included this article that lauds beavers for their job shadowing habits (which surely involve the beaver equivalent of asking for help), their planning, creativity, and innovation. After...
purple plains bison

purple plains bison

inspiration I googled “strong endangered animals,” surfed the results and decided to paint a bison. Before Europeans came to America, it’s estimated there were 300-600 million bison. The US government encouraged Buffalo slaughter, thinking (correctly) it would...