Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Constricting Lines

Drawing a Boa Constrictor

Prints, posters and signed fine art reproductions are available 
for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

Boa Constrictor. 11x17" Ballpoint Pen and Ink wash

I've always been fascinated by snakes. Behind the house that I grew up in as a child, in Maryland, was a large area of woods that my brother Tony and I would go searching for snakes to catch and keep as pets. Garter snakes, Rat snakes, Ringneck snakes, and Black snakes were some of the species we would find. We would rarely come across a copperhead, a poisonous snake, but would keep our distance knowing how dangerous it was. We would then bring our catches home and raise them in terrariums and add them to our large collection of found pets. I still can't believe our mother let us do this. Teenagers with a room full of turtles, snakes and fish. A friend of ours had a Boa Constrictor as a pet, and I'll never forget handling it for the first time. Watching its movements as it wrapped around my arm. Studying it complicated patterns and coloring.

The detail and complex patterns of snakes scales and coloring has always intrigued me, and drawing them has always been something I've enjoyed. But this time I wanted to challenge myself even more by not only drawing all of the intricate scales, but doing it on a subject that was twisted and wrapped. What amazed me as I drew it was the complex geometric patterns that a snakes scales create. Below are pictures I took as I drew the Boa. You can see that I literally skinned the snake from head to tail in a grid of lines. And my drawing doesn't come close to the detail of a snakes true skin. Mine is merely a representation. As always, Thank you so much for visiting my blog.


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: 




Saturday, November 23, 2013

100 ETSY THANK YOU'S!!

to everyone who ordered around the World!


Prints, posters and signed fine art reproductions are available 
for purchase in my Etys shop at: 


Tiger. 11x17" Ballpoint Pen and Ink wash

I want to say "THANK YOU!" to everyone who helped me reach my 100th print order in my Etsy Shop. I am humbled, and honored by the incredible worldwide support and kindness of people. I feel extremely lucky to now have my art in more than 15 countries around the world. Many thanks, Tim Jeffs


If you haven't already please visit and friend my Facebook page at:


where I post progress of my pieces and other happening about my artwork.

Sunday, November 17, 2013



Star of the Stripes

Portrait of a Tiger

Prints, posters and signed fine art reproductions are available 
for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

Tiger. 11x17" Ballpoint Pen and Ink wash

By now you know I love drawing any animal with spots, but one with stripes comes in a very close second. A tiger has been on my list for a long time, so I'm really glad to be able to check this one off. Each time As I start a drawing of yet another incredible animal I dive into research about it's history, current condition, behavior and general facts. And over and over again I seem to always find out how few of these amazing animals are left in the wild. Here's the breakdown by subspecies of the tiger that are still out there: 

Bengal tiger: Less than 2,000
Indochinese tiger: 750-1,300
Siberian tiger: Around 450
Sumatran tiger: 400-500
Malayan tiger: 600-800
South Chinese tiger: Extinct in the wild
Caspian tiger: Extinct
Javan tiger: Extinct
Bali tiger: Extinct
Unbelievable right! Such an incredibly, majestic, and beautiful creature hunted nearly out of existence for their body parts. Out of nine subspecies of tiger the last 3 are extinct, one is extinct from the wild, and the rest are endangered. Something all of us should be aware of. 

Tigers are the largest cat species. They can weight up to 700 pounds and can leave up to 26 years. At the turn of the 20th century there were around 100,000 tigers, now in the wild, the estimate is between 3,000 to 4,000. 

Just beginning with the face

Close up of the eye

Working on the ears and whiskers

The head getting closer to completion

Just love the quality of the Moleskin paper. 

Inking in the background

My work space and tools
The final drawing (click on it for a larger view)
The final head

A detail of the final eye


Prints, posters and signed fine art reproductions are available 
for purchase in my Etys shop at: 


Sunday, November 3, 2013


And the Answer is...a Cheetah!

Congratulations to Meagan for guessing the right Animal.

And thanks to everyone else who participated


Cheetah. 11x17" Ballpoint Pen and Ink wash



Porsche on Paws

Drawing a Cheetah

Prints, posters and signed fine art reproductions 
 are available for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

It is truly a porsche on paws. Cheetahs are the world's fastest land mammal and can go from 0-60 miles per hours in only 3 seconds. In 1900 there were over 100,000. Now  perhaps only 7,000-10,000 of these cats remain, making them extremely endangered.  Here's a Cheetah fact that I never knew. Other than Africa there is only one other place they live. In Iran there is a small isolated population of 200.

This incredibly cat had to be added to my list animals to draw for two reasons. First because it is an absolute marvel of evolutionary perfection. It's slender long-legged body is built for one thing...speed. In a typical chase a cheetah's respiratory rate increases from 60 to 150 breaths per minute. It can reach speeds of 40mph in 3 strides, and they have been know to reach speeds of up to 70mph. As Cheetah's run only one foot touches the ground at a time, and at full speed it's strides grow to 20-25 feet. That's unbelievable!! 

The second reason I had to draw a Cheetah is because it is so vulnerable. They are extremely endangered and need help. If you are interest in Cheetah Conservation, there's a wonderful organization called Cheetah Conservation Fund. The website is at www.cheetah.org. They are well know for helping these amazing cats out. 

I choose to show my cheetah not in motion, but in the very patient pose they take as they look and wait. They look so noble and beautiful. Their beauty is something we should all realize is vanishing right before us. Once again, thanks for taking the time to visit my blog and look at my latest art.

Here are some photos taken during my drawing process


Just starting to ink in my sketch

Adding in spots
Slowly building up the fur
Inking in the background
My work space
A before and after montage of my Cheetah
The final drawing
Close up of the face
The eye

Prints, posters and signed fine art reproductions are available 
for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

Wednesday, October 30, 2013


And the Animal is...

Leave a comment on this blog post of which animal 

you think my next drawing will be of. Be the first person to guess it right, and get a FREE PRINT mailed to you. 

Good Luck!


Since everyone has been so supportive and helpful to me with animal ideas for my drawings, I wanted to say thanks by giving a chance to win a FREE 12"x18" print of my next drawing. Guess as many times as you like. It's the FIRST person to guess the RIGHT animal. I'll announce the winner when the drawing is finished and available in my shop. Thanks  so much for all of your good words, support and kindness! It keeps my pen drawing these amazing animals. 

What will it be? 11x17" Ballpoint Pen and Ink wash

See my other available prints, posters, and signed reproductions at:

Friday, October 25, 2013



Inkin a Squid

My tale of drawing a squid

Prints, posters and signed fine art reproductions are available 
for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

Squid. 11x17" Ballpoint Pen and Ink wash

I finished another addition to my "Sea Creatures" Series. A squid. Squids are one of those creatures that when you see them in life they seem about as close to an alien species as you can imagine. So many science fiction monsters have been inspired by these tiny little creatures, and it's easy to see why. With tentacles, huge eyes, wings and glowing transparent bodies, they fit the "monster class" well. Getting the chance to see them while diving I have always been fascinated with there incredible swimming ability. They can hover, turn or a dime and have explosive speed that makes them seem like mechanical flying machines underwater. 

Weird Squid fact that I didn't know. Squids are extremely strong swimmers and certain species can "fly" for short distances out of the water. So watch out! I took liberty on this drawing to break a rule. Squid, like octopus, have 8 tentacles. If you take the time to count up how many tentacles my squid has, it's way over 8. But 8 just didn't seem enough to express the movement i was trying to achieve on this piece. One quote that I read, and liked, about art is that unlike photograph which captures reality, art expresses it. And that is what I decide my squid would do. As always, thanks for taking the time to look and visit.

Here are some photos taken during my drawing process

Just starting in with the eye.

Detail of the eye

Adding in my all time favorites...spots!

Working on the body and tentacle patterns

After about half the drawing is done I start to painting in the background

My variety of Uniball PowerTank pen sizes are to the right

The pen ink and inkwash ink have different qualities and colors

Starting on the tentacles

The finished drawing

Detail of the head

 Detail of the eye
Prints, posters and signed fine art reproductions are available 
for purchase in my Etys shop at: