Winged Wildlife Drawings: The Story Behind The Range

As some of you may have seen on my social media channels, I have a range of pen and ink wildlife drawings that I call the Winged Wildlife range.

from left to right: White swan, small owl, eider duck, tawny owl,
robin balancing on a stick, swallowtail butterfly

The Winged Wildlife range consists of six framed, original pen and ink drawings, three of which are also available as prints and as greeting cards. It is a dream come true.

Birds are one of my favourite animals. Have you ever looked closely at birds, at their feathers, the details you can find, and the colours?

Birds seem to have such a free spirit. Whenever I am at my parents’ house in The Netherlands, I pause to watch the birds take a bath in the old stone bird bath in the garden. I can stand there for hours looking at them. It looks like so much fun.

When different types of birds come along to the bird bath it’s fascinating to watch how they all interact. How the big birds bully the smaller ones for a spot in the bath (it’s only big enough for one bird).

Or how the blue tits jump around the edge of the bath whilst the robin is having a jolly splashing around in the water.

But birds are not the only animals with wings. I also love butterflies. I love the journey the butterfly goes on. Starting off as a caterpillar and resulting in a winged animal. The transformation from shedding its old self to become a new, even more beautiful and free self.

greeting cards: robin balancing on a stick, swallowtail butterfly, tawny owl (all three also available as prints)

Using pen and black ink is challenging when you’re drawing a colourful creature – I had to experiment with using different techniques, strokes and lines to capture the details and a sense of the colours.

There is beauty in the details, anywhere and everywhere in life. Remembering that slows me down, as by paying attention and living in the moment I feel happier and more joyful. It also puts so many things into perspective. That’s why I love drawing detailed subjects like wildlife.

As for dreams coming true, all it takes are baby steps every day, as well as faith in your vision and belief in yourself to make it happen. A year ago, I would not have imagined that I would be writing this blog post announcing my range of drawings, prints and cards. I am so glad I started acting on my dream back then.

That’s the magic and power of the creative process.

What do you dream of doing in your life? What small step can you take today to start realising that dream?

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