Whale of a Tail, of a New Jersey Tale

Drawing a Humpback Whale

Prints, posters, stationery cards, and signed fine art reproductions  

are available for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Humpback Whale. 11x17" Ballpoint Pen and Ink wash

I live in New Jersey, and when you think of New Jersey whale watching just doesn't come to mind. Cape Cod, Maine, Southern California, and Hawaii are the places where you go to see whales. But recently whale sightings have increased off the New Jersey coast. Especially humpback whales are being sighted much more often this year than in prior ones. There are reports that say it could be because of cleaner waters that have encouraged huge rises in fish populations which whales feed on. This is such great news! I hope this continues and New Jersey becomes the next whale watching destination.

Here's an article that you can read with more details about the increased whale sightings off of the New Jersey coast. Btw, Great White Shark sightings are up too off of NJ. Fantastic news!

I love whales and always have since I was a kid. And strangely I haven't drawn them at all. But recently I had the opportunity to illustrate a non-fiction story by Leslie Jamison called "52 Blue". It's a story about the Loneliest whale. You can read it on The Atavist website here. I did 11 drawings which run throughout the story. It was a wonderful assignment and really made me enthusiastic about drawing whales. So after I finished the project I jumped right into drawing a humpback whale. Humpbacks whales have a special place in my heart. I had the amazing opportunity back in the late 1980's to dive with humpbacks while I was visiting my brother Tony who lived in Hawaii at the time. We were scuba diving off the coast of the Big Island of Hawaii when Humpbacks came upon use on a dive. I'll never forget the sounds they made. This was one of my top 10 life experiences.

Here are a couple of Humpback whale facts. They grow up to 62 feet long and can weight 40 tons. They are endangered with the world population at 80,000. They migrate up to 16,000 miles a year. They can live up to 50 years.

In this drawing I wanted to capture a feeling of peacefulness. My humpback is just floating and isn't moving at all. My whale is completely calm, with the reflection of the water all over him. I think this will be the first of many whale drawings I do. They are such magical looking creatures! Thanks as always for looking.

Here are some photos taken during my drawing process

Here's the finished drawing

Prints, posters and signed fine art reproductions are available 

for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Dragon Tales and Scales

Drawing a Bearded Dragon

Prints, posters, stationery cards, and signed fine art reproductions  

are available for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Bearded Dragon. 11x17" Ballpoint Pen and Ink wash

I'm really really enjoying drawing reptiles with lots of scales right now, and this drawing is probably my most ambitious reptile drawings to date. The detail that a Bearded Dragon possesses is truly amazing. It's complex scaly skin, patterning, and thorns are extraordinary at close examination, but my drawing only scratches the surface of what this little lizard's body really looks like.

when I take on a drawing as detailed as this, I like to break the drawing down into several stages and tasks. I don't try very hard to mimic reality, I'm more concerned with making up cool designs and patterns. So first I figure out the size and style of the scales I'm going to draw by adding in just a few throughout the piece. All the others are drawn spontaneously as I go. I then lay down the outline of a row of scales and after that go back and shade in each one, one at a time. It's kinda like building a mosaic of tiles. After I finish an area of scales I shade over them to create texture and depth. You can see this in my progress pictures below. I've been ask to shoot videos as I work, so I hope to do it during my next drawing. I see artists posting videos as they draw on Instagram all the time, which are very interesting to watch. If you have any interest in following my day to day progress as it happens, you can follow me on Instagram.

I've reached 40!

I've reach 40! not in years old, (I'm older than that!) but this is the 40th black and white animal drawing I've done in this series. They are all ruffly 11"x17" in size, and it's taken me about a year to get this far. I feel I've learned a lot along the way about drawing with ink, learning about the animals I've drawn, and had an amazing time meeting and communicating with so many wonderful people through social media and in person about art. So thanks to everyone who as been supportive and encouraging. I've got lots more drawing in me, so the next year should hopefully even be better.

To end, here's a little bit of info about this amazing creature in this drawing. Pogona, which are more commonly referred to as Bearded Dragons, are a reptile which lives in arid semidesert and woodland regions of Australia. They are a common pet in the US but have been banded in Australia from the pet trade. Their triangular heads and flattened bodies with spiny scales arranged in rows and clusters. These are found on the throat, which can be expanded when threatened, and at the back of the head. These spiny scales are used to scare off predators, yet they are not very sharp.

Here are some photos taken during my drawing process

The finished drawing

Prints, posters and signed fine art reproductions are available 

for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Took a While Crocodile

Drawing a Crocodile

Prints, posters, stationery cards, and signed fine art reproductions  

are available for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Crocodile. 11x17" Ballpoint Pen and Ink wash

Ok, I have to say, this one took longer than I expected. This Crocodile took a while! I probably put 20-25 hours of time into drawing this piece. Not that there is anything wrong with this. I love working on a single piece of art for an extended period of time. Actually, the longer the better, because I get to experience a kind of evolutionary process as the drawing progresses, and this is when I feel I get the chance to improve and learn more. Now, I don't consider myself a photo realistic artist in the least bit. I know people that can make art that you can't even tell isn't a photograph. That is a talent I just don't posses, and am not going to strive for, but what I do like is detail, and most of all I like creating patterns. Finding different patterns that somehow represent the texture and feel of the creature I am drawing, is what I love most. And repeating those patterns throughout a piece of art is where I find true happiness in making art. I never get frustrated, bored, or anxious from repetitive actions. It's more of a mediating experience that makes me very relaxed while I'm doing it. Even to the point where I can concentrate on something else, like watching TV while drawing. 

My drawing surface of choice. A self-healing cutting mat

I've tried many surfaces to draw on, from wood, to illustration board, but my preferred surface for pen work is a self-healthing cutting mat. They come in many sizes, and I find that this surface is ideal for the pressures that my pen demands. It isn't too hard or soft, but just right. This is totally a personal preference and may not work for others.

For those who might be interested, here is how I approach creating one of my drawings. Once I've come up with the animal that I'm going to draw I do quick sketches to work out the composition. After settling on the composition I do a ruff initial light sketch, in pen, on paper. I move onto what I call, "skinning the animal", by adding in the textures and patterns of the surface. This is were I get my real enjoyment. Exploring different patterns that describe the surface of the particular animal. And then I'm off to the races, at turtle speed that is, slowly constructing the animal usually from the eye out. I love starting with the eyes. One thing I will tell you about drawing with a ball point pen is that it is amazing how temperature effects the ink flow. The warmer it is, the quicker the ink comes out of the pen. When it flows fast it builds up on the pen tip and then makes blotches on the paper. So to avoid this I have a napkin in my other hand and constantly wipe the pen tip. Sometimes wiping after every 3rd or 4th line. It has become second nature to me, so it doesn't effect my drawing freedom at all, but it is something that you have to get use to. I love piecing together the patterns and working out how the scales interact with each other. Drawing one scale at a time before moving onto the next. Finally after the underlining pattern is done, I shade over the patterns to create the form, structure, and shape of the creature. Once the complete drawing is finished I do more shading to add drama. And last I black in the background with layers of india ink. ProArt is my india ink of choice since it is very opaque and covers well. If you have any other questions about my drawing techniques, please don't hesitate to write and ask me. And please forgive me for my bad grammar and misspellings. I'm NO editor, just a guy that loves to draw!

Reptiles have to be some of my favorite animals to draw. The incredible detail in their scaly skin is just cake to me! And Crocodiles are basically the coolest of the cool when it comes to reptiles. Bad to the bone!

Here are some photos taken during my drawing process

The light underlying drawing 

The detail work begins

Here you can see my drawing surface and work space

Watching TV while drawing. The World Cup!

Close up detail of the eye

The finished drawing

Prints, posters and signed fine art reproductions are available 

for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Bearing a White Out

Drawing a Polar Bear

Prints, posters, stationery cards, and signed fine art reproductions  

are available for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Polar Bear. 11x17" Ballpoint Pen and Ink wash

With adult males standing 8-9 feet tall and weighting up to 1700 pounds, Polar Bears are the largest land carnivores in the world. There are an estimated 20-25,000 left in the wild, therefore classifying them as a vulnerable species.  It's scientific name "Ursus maritimus" means "maritime bear" because they spend much of their time on the Arctic sea ice in search of prey. They are incredibly adapted for the cold with thicker fur than other bears, a layer of blubber under the fur for buoyancy and insulation, and a streamlined long neck for swimming in the water and warming the air that they breath.

Attempting to draw a completely white animal with only black ink is something that's quite a challenge. And unlike most of the animals that I draw the Polar Bear doesn't have spots or patterns, but only a stark white coat of fur. Therefore it felt like almost a test of "can I do this" animal. I hope I succeeded.

Polar Bear. original photograph by AA Rosenfeld

The inspiration for this drawing came directly from an amazing photograph that AA Rosenfeld took of a Polar Bear (above). Alvin is a friend and amazing photographer. He does wildlife photography all over the world, included underwater photography, and his work is just spectacular! He graciously gave me permission to use his work as reference. You can see and purchase his amazing photographs at Images of Old Greenwich here www.imagescenter.com. Thanks again Alvin for you generosity! The one aspect I decided to change from the photo was that I wanted to make the bear appear to be looking directly back at the viewer as he walked by. So I added in the turned eye to stare the viewer down! I hope you enjoy my take on this wonderful animal.

"Finding what is hidden beneath the surface, bringing the 
unseen to light, uncovering the unknown."

 -AA Rosenfeld

Here are some photos taken during my drawing process

Prints, posters and signed fine art reproductions are available 

for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

A Spring Snow

Drawing a Snow Leopard

Prints, posters, stationery cards, and signed fine art reproductions  

are available for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Snow Leopard. 11x17" Ballpoint Pen and Ink wash

The ultimate cool cat! The Snow Leopard is one of those animals that looks too beautiful to be true. Almost like an apparition, it is extremely elusive and secretive, lives in remote mountainous regions, and is incredibly well camouflaged which makes it very hard to see. Sadly it is also extremely endangered with estimates of only 4,000 to 7,000 left in the wild today. In 2008 it was placed on the Red List of threatened species. For all those reasons I just had to add this majestic cat to my list of "Big Cat" drawings. It has always been one of my favorites.

Snow Leopard. original photograph by Anthony Festa

The inspiration for this drawing came directly from an amazing photograph that Anthony Festa took of a Snow Leopard. Anthony is a friend and amazing photographer. He does landscape, nature, and wildlife photography and his work is stunning! He graciously gave me permission to use his work as reference. You can see and purchase his photos on his website at selectimagesphotographycom. Thanks again Anthony for you generosity! The only thing I decided to change from the photo was that to Snow Leopard's look appeared slightly timid to me, so I tried to achieve a more confident stare and demeanor. I hope I was successful.

This time I took a lot more photos as I progressed through the drawing. Since people have been asking me more about my working process I thought more pictures will make it clearer. On this piece I started with a fine pencil sketch of the basic outline of the Leopard. After that the pencil is exchanged for my pen. It's all pen work from this point on. I usually always start some where on the animals face. This gives me the opportunity to breath life into the drawing, and then I slowly expand to finish the overall body. Drawing fur has always been a challenge for me. I feel I gained some knowledge this go around. I work from light to dark and begin by applying very little pressure to the pen as I let it glide across the paper. This let me draw the finest of lines. To achieve the darker areas I slowly build up those areas with layers of lines. After I have finished the inking of the animal I start brushing in the background with india ink. I love cutting out the animal. It almost feels like creating a sculpture to me. I do this with Pro Art India Ink. It's very thick and covers the papers quickly. I've noticed that different bottles have different consistencies of thickness, so I mix them to get that perfect flow. Thanks again for dropping by, and taking the time to visit my blog! It's onto the next animal for me!

Here are some photos taken during my drawing process

Prints, posters and signed fine art reproductions are available 

for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt