Sooty Shearwater

What really attracts me to birds is a predilection for "things with wings." I know I'm not alone in having flying-dreams. I've been putting wings on things ever since I could first hold a pencil.

Birds have so many fascinating features: plumage colors and patterns, displays, behaviors, and the fact that they have a common ancestor with the dinosaurs. The science of birds is just as interesting to me as the aesthetics of them, and definitely serves to enhance the way I draw and paint them.

My grandmother was the first person to get me interested in birds, giving me a very old, battered bird book as a teen. I soon became a birder, getting myself a field guide and starting to learn the birds I saw.

I've been drawing my whole life, but was discouraged from focusing on "becoming an artist" because those close to me feared I would become “a starving artist.” Instead, I earned my Bachelor's of Science in Zoology from Humboldt State University in 2003 and expected to find a career doing some kind of science-related work. I searched for work for two years and was unable to achieve that goal, working instead in the retail and hospitality industries.

Phoenix

While at HSU, I took representational drawing courses and was told by an instructor about the Scientific Illustration Program at UC Santa Cruz. I applied to and was accepted. The highly intensive graduate-level program immersed me in scientific illustration and vastly improved my skills.

As a part of the program, I sought a 10-week internship and was excited to be invited to come to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in August of 2006. Since the completion of my internship, I have stayed at the Lab as a temporary employee.

Who, Me?

The Lab of Ornithology is a fantastic place for birds, science, and art. I have learned a lot while working here and have expanded my portfolio. My assignment while at the Lab is to complete a hundred and fifty figures for the Lab's "Handbook of Bird Biology" and to create a series of seasonal trail guides to Sapsucker Woods.

I continue to freelance and to complete other art of my own inspiration. In addition to birds, I enjoy illustrating fantasy and science-fiction, felines, and any "things with wings."