Drawing Nature: The Creative Process of an Artist, Illustrator, and Naturalist

Award-winning artist and author Feltner (A Haven in the Sun) is a naturalist, educator, and interpretive specialist who creates everything from fine art to educational signs for zoos. In her stunning, information-packed book, she shares the methods she uses to draw scientifically accurate nature. She stresses curiosity and observing animals in the wild to capture their natural behaviors and movements but allows that captive animals and museum specimens also help create accurate depictions of wildlife. She likes to research the natural history of the animals and plants she draws or paints, setting them in their native habitats, often adding an associated insect or arachnid to the tableau. Chapters cover drawing and painting birds and mammals; plant/animal partnerships; planning the design of a piece of artwork, including recreating backgrounds; and producing interpretive signs showing the interrelatedness of nature. Feltner shares numerous examples of her work at many stages, from the first thumbnail sketches to the finished watercolors, describing and illustrating the steps she took along the way, including listing the art supplies she used.