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

Welcome, former Twitter artists! From paleoart to fine art, comics to medical illustration, bioart to space imagery, explore the rich SciArt ecosystem on Bluesky with the SciArt Starter Pack. 150 artists, plus the entire popular SciArt Feed 🐡. And no gen AI or NFTs.

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

Spotted this tufted titmouse in Sapsucker Woods a few weeks ago. I didn’t notice the band until I started this piece. Light washes in my A6 Etchr sketchbook with Pentel brushes. I always start with the eye and stop when it winks. Like trying to hold a moment still without hurting it. #sciart #birds

It’s been a busy week with a big focus around AI in healthcare (my day job). But I finally had a chance this morning to start this tufted titmouse in watercolor. Grateful for these quiet moments especially when life decides that top gear is needed. #birds #sciart

I watched this osprey at Stewart Park (Ithaca, NY) this summer. Its posture, that nest, the feathers in the breeze. Drew it mostly with my Graphgear 1000 .5mm (4B) and some fine .3mm 2B for detail. The nest was my fave part to draw. We’ll dive into this technique in my January course. #sciart #birds

New to drawing or coming back to it? Join me in Stittsville, Ontario. 5 Tuesdays, Jan 13 to Feb 10, 7:00 to 9:00 pm. Learn to see shapes, measure, and shade with simple tools. Supplies included. Waitlist: shop.mikehendley.com/products/… #sciart

Painted this one upside down by accident and just kept going. It’s based on a photo of two sandpipers on the shoreline from a friend of mine. Used Pentel water brushes with Golden QOR paints in an Etchr hot press sketchbook. #sciart #birds

After a long week at work, I spent a couple hours in a coffee shop this morning sketching this tree frog from start to finish. Looser than usual, but it felt good to create again. Absence of art really does make the heart grow fonder. #sciart #herp #artist

Happy international podcast day! I’m coming back with season 2 of my podcast “Drawing Inspiration” in spring 2026. First season was 109 episodes. Second is 6 😁 This time with a season and episode sponsors. More to come … drawinginspiration.fm

Painted this river otter in watercolor using a medium Pentel Aquash for the fine fur. It started curious, turned kind of defiant, and now it’s quietly judging me for working so small. Definitely want to go way bigger next time. #sciart #watercolor #artist

An hour into this watercolor sketch of an otter. I added Washi tape around the edge because this piece will include a background. This was a very tricky start trying to get the details in the eyes with a medium tip Pentel water brush. Paynes grey violet is fantastic for wet brown fur #wip #sciart

Between workshop prep, I squeezed in this leopard sketch. The scale pushed me, specifically the spots and face details. Pentel Nero Orenz .2 mm HB for the fine stuff, Graphgear 1000s for the rest, and a 2.0 mm 6B clutch pencil for the dark rocks. Leopards carry prey heavier than themselves. #sciart

Coffee shop sketches, photography, and patience with wildlife feed my art. Practicing in public is how I grow. Bringing that approach into my first in-person drawing workshops starting in 2026. I wrote about it here. www.pawstrailsmagazine.com/practice-… #sciart

I watched this green heron hunt in Stewart Park, Ithaca, NY. Sketched in coffee shops using Polychromos colored pencils on Stonehenge paper mounted to aluminum (Legion Paper). Moments after this pose it caught a catfish. Green herons are one of the smallest herons in North America. #birds #sciart

A neighbor remembered I like making mushroom ink. These shaggy mane ink cap mushrooms are perfect. Only a couple were ready. The remainder should be ready in a day or two. I’ll be back for them.

It’s almost time to open registration for my first in-person workshop in 2026. Course materials, supplies and a new community web site for all attendees. Happy though to get back to this green heron in colored pencil on Stonehenge white mounted to an aluminum panel. Thanks Legion Paper. #sciart

Started a new colored pencil piece. This is one is based off a photo I took in Ithaca moments before this green heron caught a catfish. I recorded most of this drawing so far. I decided to do this one @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social to highlight the long neck extension you mentioned #wip #sciart

When your daughter asks you to paint her nails for Ottawa Comiccon, of course you say yes 😊 I am going to need a better brush if I do this again.

Drew this monarch with Pentel Graphgear pencils and a blender. Its wing was torn, its life near the end, but its offspring are likely preparing for the long trip to Mexico. I’ll be bringing monarchs into my 2026 workshops too–they feel like drawings that keep teaching me. #invertefest #sciart #art

Started this monarch butterfly sketch this morning. I need to draw or paint them regularly. Especially with them heading to Mexico soon. #invertefest #invertebrate #pencil

Finished this red-footed falcon in colored pencil. My first time on Stonehenge White mounted to aluminum. I’d painted it in watercolor months ago, but coming back to pencil allowed me to explore the medium and the leaves a bit more. #birds #sciart

I worked a bit on the tail end of this falcon before branching out and then leafing it for the day 🤣 I’ll finish it at the next session. #birds #wip #sciart #coloredpencil

New newsletter is out: changes to U.S. art imports, a beginner drawing course for Jan 2026, Patreon relaunch, and a studio update with new falcon, heron, frog, and beetle pieces. Plus art supply discounts. mikehendley.substack.com/p/32-drawing...

Progress from this morning’s coffee shop drawing of a red-footed falcon with colored pencil. I really enjoy practicing in public. Love the interest from others in my materials and process and also sharing pics of their work like artist Sabine visiting from Germany. #bird #sciart #coloredpencil

I haven’t used coloured pencils in quite some time but I had to try this paper mounted on an aluminum panel from Legion Paper. This red-footed is the perfect subject. I also reorganized my coffee shop kit to accommodate the panel and roll of Polychromos pencils. More to come #wip #sciart #birds