Spent two slow coffee shop mornings in Ithaca NY on this Atlantic puffin. Watercolor in my Etchr hot press sketchbook, Pentel Aquash brushes, backup palette pulled out for those beak colors. Strangers kept stopping to chat. #sciart #bird

Spent the week with this harvest mouse. All graphite, GraphGear 1000 in three weights, and the branch took longer than the mouse did. Retirement is coming up in August and I am finally letting drawings take the time they want to take and taking days off like today to do that. #sciart

I spent a full day at an AI for Health Summit but I did spend an hour on this at a coffee shop before I started my day. Priorities. :-) #sciart #graphite #artist

Drew a southern leopard frog in graphite this week. I think I’ve drawn more frogs than any other animal at this point. It’s become a way to measure how my hands have changed. The texture on this one would not let me put the pencil down. #sciart #pencil

Tawny owl and a field mouse on opposite posts, barbed wire between them. Watercolor in the sketchbook, Aquash brushes, QoR paints. Took me a few days to get back to this one. Work has been heavy. But I am retiring August 1 to do this full time. Soft landing into a new chapter. #sciart #bird

Drew this African penguin this morning trying to quiet a loud week. GraphGear 1000s in a small sketchbook, started at a coffee shop, finished in a hospital cafeteria. Ninety minutes that felt like three hours. Exactly what I needed. #sciart #bird #graphite

Finished this gyrfalcon at a coffee shop today. QoR watercolors, Etchr hot press sketchbook, fine and medium Pentel water brushes. Let it stay looser than I usually would. Felt good to just let the softness be there. #sciart #watercolor #art

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Highland cattle graphite study — layers of shaggy fur, loose graphite powder for the background, and Blu-Tack to pull out the light. These animals are endlessly drawable. #sciart #graphite🐄✏️

Started this wanting to draw horns. Ended up drawing silence. Bighorn sheep in winter, rendered with Pentel GraphGear 1000s — the .2mm for tiny bare branches, the .5mm 4B for all that fur and shadow. This one was a true joy.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ #sciart #graphite

Quick sketch at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Volunteers had everyone drawing their bird. Standard colored pencils they had on hand, spare paper, 15 minutes of good conversation. Landed on the Northern Hawk Owl. Those eyes did most of the work. #bird #artist #cornell

Started a sketch of a big horn sheep this morning. So much change happening this year. Nice to find a few mins to sketch.

Painted this barn owl on a trading card sized piece using Pentel Aquash brushes and QoR watercolors. Worked from a photo reference. Owls are magical. This series is quietly becoming one of my favorite things I make. #sciart #bird

Sketched an eastern spadefoot in my tiny sketchbook using Pentel GraphGear 1000 pencils (.2 HB, .3 2B, .5 4B). Weird little amphibian that isn't really a frog or a toad. They can stay buried underground for months or years, waiting for rain. #sciart #pencil #art

Just finished this cedar waxwing artist trading card. Painted with QoR watercolors on hot press paper using a Pentel water brush. Waxwings love berries so much they sometimes get tipsy from fermented fruit. Painting this felt like holding a quiet breath. Affordable originals ;-) #bird #sciart

Lunchtime stop at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca. Two 15 minute ballpoint sketches. A black capped chickadee and a tufted titmouse. I left them on the inspiration wall. Tiny birds. Tiny drawings. Somehow it still feels like leaving a small conversation with nature behind. #sciart #bird

Started this tiny gray mouse lemur sketch over coffee in a café in Ithaca and finished it after work. A father and daughter nearby asked to see the sketchbook which was a nice surprise. Graphite with Pentel Graphgear pencils. Fun fact: gray mouse lemurs are the smallest primates on Earth. #sciart

I’m back in Ithaca NY visiting my daughter for a few days. Of course I sketched over some coffee at Ithaca Bakery before starting my day. #wip #sciart

A pair of chestnut breasted mannikins on thin twigs, started on the train and finished with all that track rhythm still in the lines. Pentel Graphgear 1000 in 2B, 4B, HB. Blender and BluTack to shape the graphite. These birds move in social flocks, almost like shared breath. #bird #sciart #graphite

Started this European barn owl yesterday on the train to Toronto and finished it waiting to head back to Ottawa. Painted in my A6 Etchr sketchbook with Pentel Aquash brushes and Golden QoR watercolors. #sciart #bird

Train ride to Toronto, tiny sketchbook open. Drew this Cooper's hawk from photos I took near downtown Ottawa. Pentel GraphGear 1000 .5 mm with 4B lead. They can pivot mid air to chase prey through trees. Sketching it felt steadier than the rails. #bird #sciart

Malignant. I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and surgery is coming soon. Season 2 of the podcast is delayed and I will not be teaching until fall. This western grebe, painted in QoR watercolors with Pentel Aquash pens, reminds me that even on water that feels unsteady, we can still rise.

Malignant. I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and surgery is coming soon. The podcast is delayed and I will not be teaching until fall. This western grebe, painted with QoR watercolors with Pentel Aquash pens, reminds me that even on water that feels unsteady, we can still rise. #birds #sciart

Gave this pangolin 45 mins last night. Been avoiding it for months--was saving it for oils. But I needed to draw, even if it was quick. One pencil (4B), no erasing, no blending, no glasses. Just marks and motion. Sometimes the sketch is the real piece. The oil will come. #sciart #pencil

This 👇💯

Finally finished this Barbary striped grass mouse using Pentel Graphgear 1000s (.3 and .5). I used a tortillon for the blur and BluTack for those tiny highlights. I honestly might enjoy drawing the bark more than the mouse. Reference by the great Edwin Butter. #sciart

Sketched this goldfinch over two quiet mornings. They’re great subjects for beginner or seasoned artists. Subtle textures, soft value shifts, no pressure to get loud. Pentel GraphGear .3 & .5 pencils (2B/4B) and a tortillon to blend. #bird #sciart

Painted this northern hawk owl after it made a surprise visit to our city. Got lost in its eyes and those stripes. Watercolor in an A6 Etchr sketchbook, Golden paints, Art Toolkit palette. Referenced a photo by Harry Foster. Quiet but somehow loud inside. #bird #sciart

Finished this sketch in a coffee shop this morning. I tried to capture every wrinkle like a memory. Two pencils, two blenders, and way too much time spent on flung mud and the elephant’s shadow. Elephants don’t just survive, they wear life. #sciart #elephant #art

Sketched this bat-eared fox in about 40 mins to warm up before getting back to the elephant piece. Used Pentel 0.3 2B + 0.5 4B, blender and blutack in a tiny sketchbook. Honestly just needed something small and focused to land in for a second. #sciart

Sketched this barn owl in 30 mins in a hospital waiting room. Just a tiny sketchbook, a 0.3 mm 2B pencil, no blending, no erasing. Not perfect but that wasn’t the point. Sometimes showing up is enough. #sciart #bird #pencil

Tried painting a sloth without it turning into green mush. Layered strange shadow colors and fought for fur texture at this size. Honestly kinda proud of how soft it turned out. #sciart #watercolor

Drawing Connections # 34. I’m prepping my first in-person Drawing 1 course (mid-Jan) and sharing my 2026 theme, Resonance, and so much more in this one. open.substack.com/pub/mikeh…

Drawing + paint snapshot of 2025: progress and rough edges. About 90 studies in graphite, watercolour, and coloured pencil. Middle photo is me speaking at a local group. Thanks for the support and questions. Newsletter Jan 2: my 2026 theme, why themes help you stay focused. Link in bio

I got way too into this opossum sketch but I couldn’t help it. Saw them in NY and couldn’t look away. Done in graphite with BluTack + blender for depth. Vines were negative space work. Feels like I drew a ghost hiding in the roots. #sciart #graphite #art

I’m back from a short holiday break. Hope everyone took some time. Happy to be back working on this piece. So many textures including some fun negative drawing. More to come! #wip #sciart #graphite #art

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Came for the owl, stayed for the stump and snow. Drawn with Pentel .2 .3 .5, HB 2B 4B. So many layers. So much blender work. Half of this was adding graphite, the other half was taking it back. Learning what to leave alone and celebrating all the textures in nature. #bird #sciart #graphite

Great horned owl sketch, morning warmup in the sketchbook. Blocking in the stare, feather bands, and that heavy brow with Pentel GraphGear and a stump. More to come. #birds #art #pencil

This griffon vulture wasn’t planned but insisted on being drawn. Used .3 & .5 Pentel mechanical pencils plus graphite powder. Vultures are survivors. Quiet, patient, powerful. Like floating grief with wings. #sciart #birds

A curious wolf pup, a red ornament, and too much feeling about reflections. Painted with QoR watercolors on a blank Etchr cold press card with my Art Toolkit palette, QoR watercolors and Pentel Aquash brushes. Wolf pups can howl at 3 weeks old. Not sure who gets this card

Sketched these Polyommatus butterflies at a Barnes & Noble in Ithaca from a reference. Graphgear 1000 (.3 & .5, 2B + 4B), Blu Tack, and a few mins of stillness. Some of their caterpillars team up with ants, who guard them in exchange for sugar. #sciart #pencil #art

A chickadee giving serious side-eye to a holiday ornament. Painted with Golden QoR watercolors and a Pentel water brush on cold press Etchr card stock. Two hours and two coffees later and we’re done. I kept this one loose and made it fun. Happy Watercolor Day! #watercolorday #birds

Playing with the idea of Magic: The Gathering type collectible cards with my art and a focus on animals in certain regions. Thoughts?

Blue jays are always around here but I don’t always observe them. This one found a corn niblet and posed for my reference photo. Sketched it fast with 0.5mm 4B + 0.3mm 2B Pentel Graphgear, plus a blender to bring the forest floor into focus at the end. Jays mimic hawks. Wild. #birds #sciart #drawing

Water practice, iridescence panic, a rogue corner hit by blue… and somehow this loon still came together. Painted with Pentel water brushes in an A6 Etchr sketchbook using QoR paints and interference pigments for that shine. Solid bones, just like the bird. #birds #sciart #watercolor

Caught this great blue heron at Mud Lake in Ottawa striking a rare wing-drying pose. I sketched it with Pentel Graphgear 1000s in 2B and 4B, layering blends and erasing to pull form from shadow. Herons always feel like ghosts dressed in feathers and silence. #birds #sciart #artist

Not my usual subject but that’s what pulled me in. Layer after layer, pencil after pencil, I let the water shape itself. GraphGear 1000 (.3 2B and .5 4B), a lot of blending, a lot of learning. It scared me. That’s how I knew it mattered.

Not my typical subject but felt compelled to start this one over coffee today. Maybe a feeling of keeping one’s head above the water. Busy days. Happy to be heading back to Ithaca for a few days. I plan to fit in some drawing and painting.

A chipmunk showed up with a nut, cleaned its tail, and something about it made me paint without thinking too hard. Used QoR watercolors and Pentel water brushes in my A6 Etchr sketchbook. Felt like catching stillness mid-chaos. Like holding your own tail. #sciart