It’s Squirrel Appreciation Day!

Posted on January 21, 2015 by foresterartist

What! Didn’t you hear it’s Squirrel Appreciation Day, January 21st. Our blogger friend Linda Martin Anderson alerted me to this important day in her blog at A Writer’s Playground. Check it out. A kid friendly blog with every special day of the month to discover.

Gray sqirrel, pen, ink, pen and ink,pen & ink, drawing, wildlife

Giving the look!

While winding down a steep mountain road two hunting seasons ago, this little scamp was gathering nuts. I surprised him and he ran up a large black oak tree. Just a short way up the tree he turned and gave me “the look.” He was sure I was coveting his nuts! Then he berated me as best he could with an acorn in his mouth. So I shot him. Sorry, I meant to say, I shot his picture with my Nikon. You can see it here, Forestry Friday … It’s The Time Of The Season For Squirrels.

The print of this pen and ink is available at Fine Art America.

Otter In The Water

Posted on January 11, 2015 by foresterartist

otter, pen and ink, drawing, ink, wildlife

Otter in pen and ink.

I did this drawing at the same time as “Forestry Friday … Otter, Otter, Otter.” I’m just now getting around to posting it.

otter, bullfrog, wildlife, nature, photography

Our local otter enjoying a yummy frog breakfast!

Pen and ink prints available at Fine Art America.

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/otter-in-the-water-timothy-livingston.html

Forestry Friday … White-Headed Woodpecker

Posted on December 5, 2014 by foresterartist

The white-head woodpecker is one of our residents in the Sierra Nevada. This one was really working over these sugar pine cones. The cones had already released their seeds, so this woodpecker must have been hunting insects.

White-headed woodpecker, woodpecker, sugar pine, sugar pine cones, wildlife, nature, Sierra Nevada

So Which Will It Bee?

Posted on December 3, 2014 by foresterartist

Here’s one I pulled from the archives of forgotten favorites.

I finally pulled the trigger. I’ve been thinking for some time about marketing prints of my art work, as many of you do. I checked out what was available and checked in with some of you, special thanks to Russel Ray, an excellent photographer in San Diego. After examining many of the sites available I went with Fine Art America. Their business model seems to be a good fit for me.

Click here to see the gallery!

I’ve been slowly posting pieces, about two a day. I can already see how difficult it is to stand out on the site, but you can’t sell it if you don’t put it out there. Clearly, promotion is the key. There is so much great art, I am curious to see how this works out. Any advice, comments or experiences are welcome.

Black Tail Redo

Posted on October 18, 2014 by foresterartist

deer, black tail deer, buck, Columbia black tail deer

This is the tweaked version.

It was bugging me. Have you ever posted something and when you look at it later, it looks wrong? Something was missing. The deer looked a little chopped off at the feet so I added a bit more foreground.

As it appeared in last weeks post Black Tail In Velvet. What do you think, did it help?

I usually use one of the tricks to get a different view such as looking at it in the mirror, upside down, from across the room, or setting it aside for several days. I guess I have a new one…post it!

Forestry Friday … Lodgepole Pine – En Plein Air

Posted on August 15, 2014 by foresterartist

One advantage to having a truck for an office, is to take a few minutes in the woods during lunch to engage in a bit of en plein air sketching. En plein air is a french term meaning “in the open air.” It refers to painting or sketching in the outdoors.

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En plein air pen and ink of a lodgepole pine cone.

Here is some of our local lodgepole pine.

In California, lodgepole pine is a tree of high elevation.

lodgepole pine, forestry, nature, photography

They prefer growing near wet areas and around meadows.

This Oregon Junco summers in a high elevation lodgepole pine forest.

lodgepole pine, forestry, nature, photography, Magee Peak

Lodgepole pine grows around this meadow with Magee Peak in the background. The very tall trees are Ponderosa pine and white fir.

It often grows in pure dense stands.

These are the male cones of the pine.

In some parts of its range, lodgepole pine produces serotinus cones. These cones stay closed until a fire triggers them to open. The seeds are released to begin the next generation.

Lodgepole pine cones are small, less than two inches in diameter.

lodgepole pine, forestry, nature, photography, log homes

It is a favored tree for making log homes.

Click on the images to enlarge them.

Fine With Phoebe

Posted on July 29, 2014 by foresterartist

The Black Phoebe in pen and ink.

Every year we have an addition built on our home. We don’t build it ourselves. The black phoebe families build their mud and twig nests under our western roof peaks when they come to stay.

This beautifully beak crafted addition to our home is a classic phoebe nest.

At a different roof peak, another phoebe family built their new nest on top of last seasons nest. I think this addition was built by the Picasso of the Phoebe world.

These little flycatchers strike fear in the hearts of mosquitoes! They’re always welcome moving in with us. Besides, I don’t mind a little mud.

“It is not only fine feathers that make fine birds.”
Aesop

The Blackberry Foxes

Posted on July 10, 2014 by foresterartist

Along the road to our home are blackberry brambles. In one bramble patch is the den of a family of gray foxes. Some mornings I glimpse the foxes hanging out on the road. The foxes have lived in the area for years. They’re attracted to the area for the cottontail rabbits that also live in the blackberries. They appeared in my earlier post The Fox and The Song

“The Vixen” pen and ink.

The other morning, I was on my way to work. I came around the corner and surprised the fox family. There were four kits and the vixen playing in the road. When they saw me coming they scattered. Foxes were darting here and there diving into the blackberry bushes. I grabbed my camera to get a picture of the group, but they had scampered away. When I stopped in front of their blackberry patch, two of the little kits were peeking out. Before I could focus my camera they disappeared.

This brave little fox graciously pose for me.

The gray fox kit.

However, a couple of days later, I was fortunate to have one brave fox kit sitting out in front of their thicket. This little one posed graciously while I snapped a few pictures. It is always a treat to see the fox family. I just hope they stay far away from our chicken house.

Forestry Friday … Mendocino National Forest

Posted on June 27, 2014 by foresterartist

The Mendocino National Forest is one of our beautiful Northern California forests. It’s located in the coastal mountains and is worth a visit.

Elk relax near Lake Pillsbury.

Sugar Pine

Forestry Friday … The Guardian

Posted on May 23, 2014 by foresterartist

Every now and then, I come across a special tree. One that was left unharvested because it so inspired people. The landowners left this tree when they logged the property. The ones that owned it next also left it, and so it goes. This tree is 7′ 3″ in diameter at breast height (DBH). The largest Ponderosa pine on record today is 9′ 2″. The Guardian isn’t the biggest, but it’s a big BIG tree.

The sign reads, “The Guardian Borne ? Age ? May You Live Forever”

That’s a nice sentiment, but it won’t happen. Trees, like people, have a limited lifespan and Ponderosa pines if left to grow their natural lives rarely survive to 500 years. However, one Ponderosa was measured at 933 years. Like the sign says, “Age ?” for The Guardian.

What brainiacs decided it was a good idea to graffiti this tree with chainsaws? Ponderosa pine has flaky bark that sheds off. If they would leave it alone for a couple of decades, most of the carving would disappear.

It’s always a Kodak moment when I come across one of these forest giants. Some that I’ve seen included an 8′ plus sugar pine near McCloud, the 8′ “Mother Viola” sugar pine near Viola (now deceased from a huge wind storm), a 7′ western white pine near LaPorte and a 10′ Douglas-fir near Quincy, all in California.