In the meantime…
Drawing elephants is a lot of work, but since I don’t want to leave you for two weeks while I worry about wrinkles, I’ll put up a few of the illustrations that I’ve done for books and journals over the last few years.
Here are a couple I did for the interior of Heyday Books’ “One Day on Beetle Rock”. I showed you the cover image (a long-tailed weasel) in an early post, but there were 29 black and white illustrations inside and below are two of my favorites.
In eastern North America, Black Bears (Ursus americanus) are black. However, by the time you get reach the Rockies, brown “black” bears are common and the states and Canadian provinces that border the Pacific Ocean feature “black” bears from brown to blond to cinnamon. There are even a few special places on Canadian and Alaskan coastal islands where you can find them white or “blue”.
I’m not sure about Sequoia National Park, where Beetle Rock is located, but most of the twin cubs I’ve seen in the West were similar in coloring. Only once have I seen siblings that were as different as these two. I have to admit to doing it for the visual effect.
It should be illegal to paint a California Mountain Kingsnake (Lampropeltis zonata) in tones of gray. Especially against a background of granite and/or pine needles these animals look extraordinary. I portrayed this one in pursuit of a Sierra Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis – subspecies taylori); at least that’s what I remember it being. At this point, 2 years later, I only know that the wonderful staff at the Beetle Rock Visitor’s Center approved it.
December 14th, 2005 at 10:04 am
Even in grayscale? B&W? whatthehellever, that’s a pretty snake.
December 14th, 2005 at 2:56 pm
Okay, that’s it. I demand that you sell me a couple of big coffee mugs with those two bear cubs. Or else … or else I’ll … well, I’ll live without it. But I won’t be happy.
December 14th, 2005 at 3:30 pm
You can’t color the pictures?
December 14th, 2005 at 8:08 pm
This bear - http://lighthouse.micro.umn.edu/deg/bwcaw/Photos/2004/01.JPG looked like she could have had a couple like those. Except, they would probably both be black. Minnesota after all.
December 14th, 2005 at 9:18 pm
I’m not 100% sure if I’ve seen black bears in Sequoia or not. I have for sure seen them in Kings Canyon National Park and Yosemite National Park, and they’re brown, just like many other western black bears I’ve seen.
December 14th, 2005 at 9:47 pm
Ocellated: there are tons of black bears in the vicinity of Mineral King. Was there in 1985, and almost had the campsite torn apart by one.
Mike
December 14th, 2005 at 9:56 pm
Seconding the coffee mug; if you don’t have a CafePress shop, you should.
December 14th, 2005 at 10:30 pm
Hank & Reno…they’re coming.
Alan…I’d rather have done them in color…the publisher wanted to keep the cost of the book low, and didn’t want to pay for color printing.
DouglasG…Absolutely…Minnesota Black Bears are ALL black. In Califonia, even the really dark bears seem brown/black instead of the Eastern blue/black. Maybe it’s just my eyes were older and duller by the time I got out West.
December 15th, 2005 at 3:57 am
What a site! I was directed here from BPotD (where I try to make up for a lost opportunity in my youth for learning about botany, and the pictures are beautiful to boot) and I’m glad I found your work. I plan on coming back!
December 15th, 2005 at 8:20 am
Nothing stopping you from adding color to the files now.