Christine Elder Art & News

Spring Teaching Workshops

2011-04-05T19:08:00.000-07:00

I am teaching a variety of exciting workshops for kids this spring. Recently I taught a botanical illustration workshop for 7th grade kids,as part of an annual program I teach with Youth in Arts ( read more about it here : http://youthinarts.org/blog/ )
In May, I will be teaching two 1-day workshops entitled 'Biological Illustration for Kids' at the Santa Cruz Natural History Museum and the Pacific Grove Natural History Museum.

It's all fun and games until....

2011-03-24T13:12:00.000-07:00

Here's an educational poster I created for the Department of Fish and Game's archery education program. They even let me take home a real live bow!

Stony Coral Illustration for new Book

2011-01-26T14:07:00.000-08:00

A new book, entitled Underwater Eden, will include an illustration I created of a stony coral polyp. The book, subtitled Race to Save the Last Underwater Wilderness, describes the Phoenix Islands Protected area, the largest and newest UNESCO's World Heritage Site. Due to its isolation in the South Pacific, this remote area ( a five day boat trip from Fiji) is extraordinarily pristine and biologically diverse, with over 500 fish species and at least 120 types of coral identified thus far.

I am honored to have an illustration in this new book soon to be published by the University of Chicago Press, and dream of one day visiting this fascinating area and diving its rich waters.

(Globe above shows location of the Phoenix Islands in the Republic of Kiribati).

Collaboration with the National Park Service

2011-01-03T13:21:00.000-08:00

I'm excited to announce a new project I'm working on with Joshua Tree National Park to help celebrate the park's 75th anniversary.

I will be creating some graphics for their children's Junior Ranger activities to complement the book I created for them last year.

Many events are planned at the park all the year (2011) to celebrate this milestone, including photo contests, treasure hunts, hikes and presentations. To learn more about these exciting activities visit:

http://jtnp75.org

Recent Project -Website Design for Decorative Painter

2010-10-23T13:20:00.000-07:00

Just finished a really fun website for a decorative painter and faux finish artist Carolyn Kubecka of Personal Touch Painting, who has been in business almost 30 years and never had a website! Her work is found at restaurants, hair salons, design centers and private residences all over Sonoma County. It was a real pleasure and a creative challenge to work with Carolyn. See examples of her fantastic faux finishes at the new website:
http://www.personaltouchpainting.biz/

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Recent Project - Website Design for Author

2010-08-24T09:46:00.000-07:00

I just finished creating a website for this Random House book, Finding Your Way Through Cancer , written by a cancer psychologist who consults with patients at our local Sierra Nevada Comprehensive Cancer Center. I highly recommend his book for anyone going through a cancer diagnosis as well as their loved ones. Dr. David Speigel of Stanford University says of the book " Dr. Kneier has written a compassionate, wise, and accessible book about living with cancer. He lets those who are on that journey illuminate your way."

Please feel free to visit his website I designed at: www.findingyourwaythroughcancer.com.

Recent Project-Native Plant Society Poster

2010-08-22T20:52:00.000-07:00

I created this illustration of a male Anna's Hummingbird and a currant infloresence for our California Native Plant Society's annual fall native plant sale. I also did the graphic design for the event's flyer and advertisement in our local newspaper. For more information on the event visit http://www.redbud-cnps.org/

Recent Project-Wild Bird Song Designs Logo

2010-07-25T09:27:00.000-07:00

The American Dipper is one of my favorite birds, and I'm in good company. John Muir also loved this active little stream resident, often writing extensively on its many antics in and around the creeks and waterfalls of the Yosemite region that Muir adopted as his own. Rarely has a trip to our local Sierran streams lacked for the presence, ever so fleeting, of a dipper. Their characteristic bobbing up and down, makes it look like they are keeping time to the music of the babbling brook, and if you're lucky, you'll see them dive right into the water to 'fish' for stream insects on the stream bottom.
I painted this watercolor for a friend whose business is called Wild Bird Song Designs and she creates lovely crochet patterns, available from her website: http://www.wildbirdsongdesigns.wordpress.com/
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Recent Project: Website Design for Scientist

2010-07-03T15:33:00.000-07:00

I've just completed another website for a scientist who studies freshwater aquatic insects-my favorite subject. I also designed this logo and his business cards and brochure.

http://www.jtkbioservices.com/

Recent Project: Website Design for Fishing Guide

2010-07-03T15:17:00.001-07:00

I just finished designing and building a website for a Tahoe area fly fishing guide. While we were at it, I also designed his logo,business cards,brochure and car door magnets.

I really enjoy the process of designing a website and assisting a client in realizing their vision and developing their message. Jon Baiocchi has been fishing all his life and last summer took me up to the high Sierra to try my hand at casting. Catching a live trout is a lot harder than it looks! But we did have fun looking for and identifying aquatic insects, and that's one thing we are both good at! Jon will be leading fly fishing and lake trolling trips all over northeastern California this summer. Check out his site at: http://www.baiocchistroutfitters.com/

Join Me For A Special Online Q. & A. Starting Sunday

2010-04-08T11:24:00.000-07:00

I'm thrilled to announce that I've been asked to participate in National Environmental Education week. I will be a featured botanical artist/educator on the website Art Plantae and will be available all week to answer educators' questions on techniques for incorporating nature illustration into their lesson plans. Join the conversation April 11-17 on http://www.artplantae.com/ .

National Publishers Pick Up New Book Illustrated by Christine Elder

2010-04-05T12:23:00.000-07:00

I'm thrilled to announce that two national organizations have picked up the entomology book I illustrated (see full original post below from Novemeber 17th.) The second edition of The Bug Book, written by The Friends of Deer Creek in Nevada City, California, and photographed by my colleague Susan McCormick, has nearly 100 aquatic insect illustrations I drew from live and preserved specimens over a 3 year period. One of the companies- BioQuip- described The Bug Book as "a remarkably well-illustrated book". To learn more about our book visit:
The Friends of Deer Creek :
http://www.friendsofdeercreek.org/bugbook.html
McDonald & Woodward Publishing:
http://www.mwpubco.com/titles/bugbook.htm
BioQuip: http://www.bioquip.com/Search/DispProduct.asp?pid=3398

Caddisfly Illustration by Christine Elder (at right, from book)

California Native Plant Society Illustrations

2010-03-30T17:11:00.000-07:00

I just finished this illustration of Fritillaria agrestis that was commissioned by the CNPS, depicting a rare lily called Stinkbells, named after their odiferous smell for attacting carrion loving pollinators! I created this illustration on vellum using graphite pencils and was lucky enough to work from a live specimen, which fortunately had lost its famous putrid smell by the time it came into my possession!

The California Native Plant Society does much good in our area, helping to protect endangered species and habitats and leading many interesting hikes throughout the spring and summer. Find out about their activities and how you can participate at: http://www.cnps.org/

Allen's Hummingbird Illustration

2010-03-14T15:13:00.000-07:00

I just discovered the coolest bird-cam: on an Allen's humminbirds nest. The hummer, a special subspecies called the Channel Islands Allen's, is nicknamed 'Phoebe' by her viewing fans, and she's been laying several clutches and raising several families per year for a while now!
Check out her nesting activities at this wonderful site:
http://www.phoebeallens.com/ .

At left, I just finished this watercolor painting of a male Allen's visiting a monkeyflower in southern California. What a coincidence!

River Explorations

2010-03-02T14:14:00.000-08:00

Spring was in the air last week as we hiked down to our Wild & Scenic Yuba River, where the ladybugs were out in force, congregating by the millions -literally - on every branch, log and rising into the air on the canyon updrafts. We plan to backpack this 10 mile stretch of trail later this spring-and will keep you posted on our adventures!

Upcoming Kids Illustration Workshop - 2010

2010-02-12T13:00:00.000-08:00

Join me for an all day class I'm teaching for kids at the Santa Cruz Natural History Museum on Saturday, April 10th (2010). This is the fourth year I've been asked back to teach this perennially favorite class. It is being presented in conjunction with an exhibition of biological illustrations from our Northern California chapter of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators, for which I am the chapter membership director.
Kids in my workshop will get a chance to sketch and paint a variety of natural objects - from seashells to orchids - learning simple techniques for learning to create realistic drawings. Click on the Museum link below to learn more about this popular class.

http://www.santacruzmuseums.org//whatsnew/events/scienceillustrationforkids.htm

New Book for Joshua Tree National Park

2009-12-14T09:27:00.000-08:00

I have just finished this booklet for Joshua Tree National Park. I created nearly 50 watercolor illustrations, 25 digital illustrations, and designed the layout of the entire book. You may be familiar with the Junior Ranger program if you have kids. The children can earn a National Park badge as well as a Scout badge by completing the activities in these books, which may include sketching, writing, poems, bingo and other games, and finding various plants, animals and landmarks in the parks.
It has been an honor to work with the wonderful folks at this park, and I'm hoping the children who use this book will love it as much as we do, & become inspired about nature, history and conservation. Park staff say "the booklets are extremely popular and since their publication we've been 'swearing new Junior Rangers in by the gazillions!"

Click on the following link to visit the National Park website and download a free copy of my book: http://www.nps.gov/jotr/forkids/beajuniorranger.htm

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New Insect Book Published

2009-11-17T15:35:00.000-08:00

The Bug Book, A Guide to the Benthic Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Families of California.
Published by the Friends of Deer Creek.
Illustrated by Christine Elder
We have finally finished The Bug Book, in which I created over 90 illustrations for this guide to stream insects. This new book contains illustrations and descriptions of 76 aquatic insect families within nine orders, plus 12 non-insect taxa. In addition, information on taxonomy, ecology and pollution tolerance are included. It is an excellent reference for scientists as well as volunteer water quality monitors who are interested in identifying the taxa in their streams as a way to gauge the health of the aquatic ecosystem. Each insect drawing I created is produced by sketching from a preserved specimen, observed under the microscope. Then I scan the image into my computer and redraw it in Adobe Illustrator. Converting these illustrations to vector format allows me to easily modify and update the drawings, and print them out at any size required. We have spent over two years on this new, 2nd edition of The Bug Book, and it promises to be a groundbreaking publication, highly useful and user-friendly to citizens and scientists alike!
To order a copy online visit: http://www.friendsofdeercreek.org/bugbook.html

Recent Illustration - Coyote's Song

2009-11-13T16:05:00.000-08:00

Springtime in the Desert - Chuckwallas

2009-11-10T18:09:00.000-08:00

Bats and Rats and Jacks, Oh My!

2009-11-04T12:32:00.000-08:00

Just finished: Western Pipistrelle, Black-tailed Jackrabbit, Kangaroo Rat

Haunted Halloween Sketches

2009-10-22T22:28:00.000-07:00

Some recent watercolors exploring the creepy-crawly theme! From left: desert hairy scorpion, darkling beetle and desert tarantula - all Southern California desert natives. Boo!

Illustration Work Recognized by the E.P.A.

2009-10-15T15:45:00.000-07:00

Christine's work on a new entomology book was recognized by The Volunteer Monitor, the national newsletter of the Environmental Protection Agency's volunteer water quality monitoring program. Published in the fall 2009 issue, the newsletter article discussed the contributions of Christine and other collaborators at The Friends of Deer Creek for their work on a new guide to California's aquatic invertebrates. Christine created nearly 100 illustrations of nine orders of insects, whose identification is valuable in discerning the health of their aquatic habitat. To see the EPA's newsletters, visit http://www.epa.gov/owow/monitoring/volunteer/issues.htm

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Current Illustration Project

2009-10-01T11:23:00.000-07:00

This illustration of a Costa's hummingbird and Ocotillo, its nectar source, is part of a large project I'm working on for the National Park Service. I just love the desert southwest and plan to make a visit this spring.

Painting in the Field

2009-09-13T09:09:00.000-07:00

I just love the turning of the seasons! We had our first sprinkles of rain yesterday which freshened the air and gave it that lovely crisp autumn scent. It inspired me to venture down to the creek and spend the afternoon sketching leaves in watercolor.

Conversations with a Jackrabbit

2009-09-02T17:40:00.000-07:00

Recent Illustration Project

2009-08-05T09:57:00.000-07:00

Poster Design for the California Native Plant Society
I've just finished a poster design and illustrations for the upcoming autumn native plant sale for our local chapter of the California Native Plant Society. If you live any where near Nevada County, stop by the sale for an exceptional variety of beautiful and hardy species. Remember that cultivating natives in your garden creates wildlife habitat, food and shelter, and many of the species are adapted to our challenging dry, clay soils. Pictured here is our lovely red and orange columbine (Aquilegia formosa) which grows in shady, seepy areas. The sale is September 19 at Sierra College. For more information contact Roger at 530.265.4173

The Challenges of Keeping a Pet Widow

2009-08-04T10:31:00.001-07:00

As many of you know, I'm fascinated by insects, ever since I was about 8 years old, collecting giant grasshoppers in Mason jars. This is probably the reason I enjoy illustrating them so much, and I take every available opportunity to sketch them from real life, which usually means collecting them in the wild and keeping them for a time in my lab, which doubles as my office and art studio.
Charlotte is my third widow pet, which I found in my garage, stringing her net around my Harley Davidson, which I just couldn't abide by! I've just learned that their 'dragline silk' is the strongest in the spider kingdom and its protein makeup is being researched for possible synthesis as an artificial micro-string.
I'm keeping her in a clear plastic box with a convenient lid. Each morning I go out to our new chicken coop and catch a nice big fly for her breakfast. She seems to have learned that each time I open the lid she'll get a treat and thus hasn't tried to escape yet. It is fascinating to watch her enthusiastically prancing around, pulling webbing out of her spinnerettes in preparation for her meal. She then waits til the fly has tripped itself up in her web, at which time she pounces in for the kill, quickly twirling her meal in a circle with her rear legs as she wraps it tightly in the webbing. She then bites the prey to kill it and injects the liquifying solution which will later enable her to lap up the fly's innards like a milk shake. I figured she may be getting bored with flies, so I've tried other species of spiders (which she usually comes to a truse with, and I let them go), damselflies, craneflies (yum!) but one critter I tried just about turned the tables on Charlotte. I caught a pillbug and she immediately seemed perplexed about how to go about subdueing it, being covered by its hard exoskeleton. When I returned the next day, the pillbug had wrapped itself tightly in a ball (that's why its other name is the rolly-polly bug), and what do you know, Charlotte's rear leg was firmly caught between the pillbug's tough plates of armor! I felt sorry for her, the widow was obviously struggling to free itself. It was odd to see such a poisonous predator caught off guard and clearly vulnerable. What is a good mother to do? So I got two of my long handled artists paint brushes, and opened the lid of her box. I anchored one brush against the pillbug and one against her leg and gently pulled. Finallly after a couple of minutes of cautious experimentation on my part, the spider was free! I quickly closed the lid of her box, and she ran up to her favorite corner, hanging upside down in her web, and proceded to nurse her injury, like a puppy licking it's paw after being stepped on. Now, several days later, she seems no worse for the wear, and we've gone back to a strict (but safe) diet of house flies. Obviously her diet is adequate, for this morning she just laid her second egg sac. I will have to remove it again within a few days, since I'm not keen on having 500 spiderlings, whose bite is 15 times more potent than a rattlesnake, infiltrating my art studio! Oh, Joy!

Recent Illustration Project

2009-07-27T13:08:00.000-07:00

I recently created this logo design for a local farm. It is their first year in business and they're growing a wonderful variety of vegies, herbs and flowers, and are deeply committed to sustainable farming practices. I belong to their CSA (community supported agriculture), in fact, I'm on my way this afternoon to pick up my weekly box of goodies from them. Perhaps it will include basil for making homemade pesto, or a floral bouquet for my kitchen table - it's always a pleasant surprise to visit the farm and watch your own food being sowed and tended by such loving and capable hands.

Visit their website at:

http://www.honeyintheheartfarm.com/

Figurative Works Exhibition

2009-07-18T22:22:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to announce the first showing of works from my weekly figure drawing class. Obviously, not scientific illustration, but an excellent exercise in studying light, shape, form
and perfecting one's quick sketching skills. Besides, I feel honored to sketch from a live model, which, in turn inspires me to make my best effort at a successful rendering.

The Figurative Works Exhibition runs through August 22, with an Artist's opening reception on July 31st at the Artists Studio in the Foothills. For more information visit:

http://www.asifstudios.com/

Christine Honored by Local Watershed Group

2009-07-10T14:47:00.000-07:00

The Friends of Deer Creek, a local citizen's monitoring watershed association, has highlighted my contributions to their organization in their recent newsletter, the Deer Creek Monitor. I've been working with this worthy group for two years, assisting with illustrations for their upcoming laboratory manual on stream insects, and a few other projects as well. It has been my own honor and pleasure to work with such dedicated folks from my home town, helping to protect our most local watershed, Deer Creek, which had been heavily mined for gold during California's gold rush, which regrettably has left a legacy of mercury pollution in the water. Check out the many projects the Friends of Deer Creek are persuing in an effort to educate citizens and restore the quality of my hometown watershed. http://www.friendsofdeercreek.org/

Hell's Half Acre-A Botanical Gem

2009-07-02T15:15:00.000-07:00

Hell's Half Acre, near my home in Grass Valley, is a botanical gem, and a favorite hiking destination for me and my beast, Harriet. The spring wildflower show is absolutely spectacular, with a plethora of meadow species including the pictured blue Lupines and yellow sunflowers.

Sketching & Experimenting

2009-06-21T11:14:00.000-07:00

Recently I visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium, where they have a lovely new exhibit on the world's seahorses. This sketch is of Australia's Weedy Seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, easily the most popular critter on display, so I only had about 10 minutes to make this quick pencil sketch before being elbowed out of the way by the many enchanted children! Once home, I decided to experiment with some mineral pigments I collected out in the field near my home in the Sierra Nevada foothills. I ground the yellow ochre-collected mineral by hand, then mixed it with some water and gum arabic, then painted it on the seahorse sketch. This experiment has made me eager to go exploring for more pigment colors amongst the sedimentary deposits near my home.

Butterfly Encounters

2009-06-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

This week, the butterflies are out in full force. During a spring hike along the North Fork of the Yuba River, we encountered literally thousands of this species, the California Tortoiseshell, which is known for its mass migrations. Surely, they are thriving from our recent rains, and the success of their host plant, the California Lilac (actually a group of related species of Ceanothus), all of which are blossoming profusely at the moment and filling the mountain air with their scent. During our hike, we were also greeted by many other species of butterflies, who were enjoying the puddles and moist mud from recent rains, and included swallowtails and California Sisters.

For more information about butterflies, visit the excellent site listed below created by a University of California professor, Art Shapiro:

http://butterfly.ucdavis.edu/butterfly/Nymphalis/californica

Art Donated to the South Yuba River Citizen's League Annual Auction

2009-05-15T07:25:00.000-07:00

Come celebrate the Wild & Scenic Yuba River at an annual auction benefiting conservation and education efforts. You can bid on two giclee prints I have donated to the cause. Please visit their website for more information on the auction and their organization.

http://www.yubaauction.org/

(At right, a photo of Sierra Newts that inhabit the river's clean and clear tributaries)

Teaching at Bridgeport

2009-05-13T16:03:00.000-07:00

Bridgeport State Park on the Yuba River is a lovely location in the spring to teach field classes. Here I am leading a guided illustration and painting class, with a focus on the anatomy and ecology of the Chinook Salmon. Our program takes classrooms of local school children out for a day in the field in which we combine the arts and sciences for an enriching experience. We will continue through early June, and start up again in the autumn.

Botanical Illustration Workshop

2009-04-25T09:32:00.000-07:00

Join me June 13th in Sacramento for a day long workshop on botanical illustration. This class is geared to both artists who'd like to learn more about plants, as well as botanists who'd like to learn more about drawing them. All skill levels are welcome and all participants will gain some knowledge of the art and field of botanical illustration. I will review some basic plant anatomy and will bring interesting examples of a variety of plants and flowers for us to draw from. We will practice quick sketching techniques, working mostly in pencil and water-soluble pens and participants will go home with a small finished piece. The day promises to be fun and rewarding! Hope to see you there.

Click the link below to learn more and download an application.
http://www.sacfinearts.org/workshops.shtml

Illustrations included in the new Encylopedia of Life

2009-02-17T20:45:00.000-08:00

I am thrilled to announce that several of my biological illustrations have been accepted by the Encyclopedia of Life. The EOL was the brainchild of E.O.Wilson~Harvard University's preeminent entomologist and Pulitzer Prize winning author, and winner of the 2007 TED Award, in which he put a wish out to the world to create such a program. The Encyclopedia of Life, as described on their own webpage is "an ambitious project to organize and make available via the Internet virtually all information about life on earth", presently some 1.8 million known species. The EOL has already begun to "synthesize biodiversity knowledge, including each species' taxonomy, geographic distribution, collections, genetics, evolutionary history, morphology, behavior, ecological relationships and importance for human beings". A truely noble and awe-inspiring project in which I am honored to be just a tiny, microscopic part of.

See one of my illustrations on their site at:

http://www.eol.org/pages/3014072

Illustrations for Iowa State University

2009-02-17T13:54:00.000-08:00

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Some of my insect illustrations can now be seen on The Bug Guide, an online identification manual to North American insects and their relatives which is sponsored by Iowa State University's Entomology Department. Visit links below for examples.
http://bugguide.net/node/view/253815#382874
http://bugguide.net/node/view/253810
http://bugguide.net/node/view/253808/bgimage

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Illustration in Progress : Nassau Groupers

2009-02-14T15:40:00.000-08:00

While SCUBA diving off the Turks & Caicos Islands, I was lucky enough to observe these most lovely and endangered Nassau Groupers (Epinephelus striatus) patiently waiting at a cleaning station to have their parasitic isopods removed by the hungry and obliging cleaner shrimps and gobies (which I have yet to add in this painting). Groupers are fascinating fish, being born female then after several spawning seasons, turning into males. Unfortunately these large and tasty fish are being hunted to extinction on their spawning grounds in the Caribbean sea. To see incredible video of groupers having their gills cleaned by cleaner shrimp visit the ARKIVE site below:

http://www.arkive.org/nassau-grouper/epinephelus-striatus/video-11.html

Upcoming Kid's Illustration Workshop

2009-02-10T16:48:00.001-08:00

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Join me for an all day class I'm teaching for kids at the Santa Cruz Natural History Museum on Saturday, May 30th.

This is the third year I've been asked back to teach this perennially favorite class. It is being presented in conjunction with an exhibit of student work from the University of California's Science Illustration Program (from which I also graduated).

Kids will get a chance to sketch and paint a variety of natural objects - from seashells to orchids - learning simple techniques for learning to create realistic drawings.
Click on the Museum link below to learn more about this popular class.

http://www.santacruzmuseums.org/NaturalScienceIllustrationforKids.htm
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Recent Project - Logo for watershed group

2009-01-11T17:55:00.000-08:00

Traverse Creek Stewardship is a volunteer watershed monitoring organization in the foothills of the central Sierra Nevada. They asked me to create a logo that played on their acronym, 'TraCKS' and featured a prominent, showy species that lives in their local creeks - the dragonfly.

I developed the animal tracks design showing common riparian species including ducks, heron, raccoon and opossum, then chose to feature the blue-eyed darner dragonfly, Aeshna multicolor. All art was created in Adobe Illustrator.

Check out the website of this worthy organization and see more examples of my illustrations on their pages: http://www.traversecreek.org/

Recent Illustration Project

2008-12-02T10:34:00.000-08:00

Common Blue Dragonfly, Aeshna multicolor.

I painted this above/below water illustration of an adult and nymph from my personal collection of specimens. As the name implies, they are quite common throughout California in a variety of habitats. I enjoy observing them patroling the shores of the South Yuba River, where I often hike and swim. Like many aquatic invertebrates, the majority of their lives are spent underwater - growing and feeding. This dragonfly spends up to three years in water, and is a voracious predator of other insects and even small fish! I once had the pleasure of observing a nymph emerge from the water and metamorphize into an adult right before my eyes!

2008-10-07T12:03:00.000-07:00

Autumn Has Arrived!

Boy, do I enjoy these first fall days, graced with just enough rain to dampen the dust and sweeten the air. Speaking of sweet, I love to bake squash pies, pumkin soups and the like, and just thought I'd share with you two of my 'go to' sites for great recipes: Epicurious, and The Splendid Table (which also has a wonderful radio program that will whet your palette). See links below.

Epicurious: http://epicurious.com/
Splendid Table: http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/
ps. I drew the squash pictured above using colored pencils on toned Canson paper.

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Article Published on My Illustration Work

2008-10-05T12:50:00.000-07:00

A two page article featuring my entomological illustration work was just published in the summer 2008 issue of the Bulletin of the North American Benthological Society.
NABS is an international scientific organization whose purpose is to promote better understanding of the biotic communities of lake and stream bottoms and their role in aquatic ecosystems. Learn more about this group at: http://www.benthos.org/AboutNABS/index.htm. Access to the article is limited to paid members, but if you'd like to view a copy, I'd be glad to send you a pdf. Simply email me a request at: christine_elder@yahoo.com

Latest Project: Foothills Oak Tree

2008-08-27T09:05:00.000-07:00

This painting depicts the most common oak tree to our foothills area of the Sierra Nevada, the California Black Oak, Quercus kelloggii. This project evolved over a two year period actually. I had painted the trompe l'oiel part first - the palette, brush and paint tubes...and couldn't quite decide what to do with the central area. Until one day last week, when walking my dog, I noticed the oaks had set quite a nice crop of acorns, so... collecting the fruits and some leaves I went back to my studio, and voila, by the end of the day I'd finally finished the painting, which measures 11" x 16 ".

Recent Illustration Project: Stonefly

2008-08-24T16:47:00.000-07:00

This is an illustration of a giant stonefly, also known to fly fisherman as a salmonfly, Pteronarcys californica. It is a common species in small, cool streams of the Sierra Nevada. Its presence in a particular habitat indicates to biologists a healthy level of water quality.

I created this illustration in a classic, traditional technique called Carbon Dust. It is a slow, labor intensive method, but yields beautiful results with time and patience. It was developed and popularized in the early 1900's by the highly esteemed medical illustrator, Max Brodel at Johns Hopkins University. In this technique one basically 'paints' with carbon dust, using pulverized pencil dust, and a small sable-haired brush, to slowly build up layers of tone, until one achieves rich, velvety blacks. One adds highlights by either scratching then out with a knife, or lifting them out with an eraser. The carbon dust technique is definitely one of my favorites, am I'm looking forward to the opportunity to create more illustrations in this classic technique.

Buy Art = Support our Rivers

2008-08-18T11:18:00.000-07:00

I've donated some original artwork to The Friends of Deer Creek, an incredible watershed restoration and citizen's monitoring group, who is hosting a silent art auction to help support their valuable contributions to our local river ecosystems. Hope to see you there! Click on the link below to learn more about volunteering with or donating to them. www.friendsofdeercreek.org/

Recent Illustration Project - Botanical Logo

2008-08-07T21:59:00.000-07:00

This illustration of Arctostaphylos viscida, the White-leaf Manzanita, depicts one of my favorite native shrubs of the Sierra Nevada foothills.

I created it as part of a logo design for a wonderful new organization, Living Wild, an online database of Sierra Nevada area native plants and their many uses for food, medicine and landscaping. Check out Living Wild's website at: http://www.livingwild.org/wiki/Landscape:_Manzanita

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-07-16T19:29:00.001-07:00

Emergency Surgery on a Carpenter Bee

2008-06-15T13:16:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's true friends. Don't laugh, but this morning I performed entomological surgery! It started this way. I was gardening outside on this lovely summer morning, when I heard a very loud and persistent buzzing. Searching for the location of the sound, I found it was coming from a carpenter bee that had been merrily minding its own business whilst pollinating the sweet peas climbing along my fence. I watched as the poor critter became entangled in a spider's web and was spinning in circles wrapping itself ever tighter in the web's embrace. Always rooting for the underdog, I couldn't help feeling pity for the bee, even though a small army of his kin are now eating my home's wooden porch. So I ran inside and found a container, then captured the carpenter bee and quickly put it in the freezer, mind you, just to calm him down. Insects are relatively impervious to the cold...once I put a long-horned beetle in the freezer for a week, but when I took him out to make a sketch, he woke up and promptly trotted off the kitchen table while I was looking down at my drawing paper! Needless to say, that illustration was never finished. Anyway, back to the bee. After about five minutes, I removed the now 'sleeping' bee and took him to my studio, placed him under my magnifying light that I use for drawing small specimens. Using two forceps, I carefully pulled the spider's web off from around his abdomen and head. The legs were the most difficult, since the web is surprisingly strong, I would have inadvertantly pulled the bee's legs off if I hadn't steadied each leg with a forcep while I used the other forcep to pull the resistant webbing. I worked quickly, just fast enough it turned out, for just as I was pulling off the last bit from over his eyes, he began to wake up and vibrate his wings to warm up. I placed him in the sun in the backyard and .....ta da....after a couple minutes he returned to full consciousness and flew off. Wow, I bet he had a tall tale to tell back at the nest!

Natural Science Illustration for Kids Workshop

2008-05-26T17:32:00.000-07:00

I've been invited back to the Santa Cruz Natural History Museum to teach an all day workshop for kids in association with the Illustrating Nature art exhibit created by my colleagues at the University of California's Science Illustration graduate program. The kids have alot of fun learning to draw natural objects such as seashells, pinecones, feathers and real insects! We experiment in using graphite pencils, watercolors and scratchboard. I've already been scheduled to return in 2009 (May 30th) for another day-long workshop. Contact me for details.

Recent Illustration Project

2008-05-26T08:44:00.000-07:00

This illustration depicts a freshwater mayfly in the family Ephemerellidae, a common and widespread group almost always associated with clean, cold, swift streams. They are superbly adapted to life in swift currents with their broad, flattened bodies and strong legs that grip tightly to the rocks.

I was approached by an entomologist colleague to illustrate this, his favorite species, Drunella pelosa. He sent by mail several preserved specimens, which are only about a centimeter long. I took them to the lab and made sketches of them under a disecting microscope. I researched online and in identification manuals the important distinguishing characters - which included the unique color pattern, robust body, and multitudes of small spines and hairs. Once the preliminary sketch was approved and modified with the entomologists' corrections, I moved on to create the finished watercolor version you see here. My technique involves using multiple, transparent layers of Winsor & Newton brand paints, then adding fine details with pencil and pen. The final painting is 10 inches high, and is now framed and hanging in the client's office. Lastly, the client requested a business card design featuring the illustration.

Life Form of the Month-Bioluminescent Dinoflagellates

2008-05-20T13:06:00.000-07:00

Next time an evening stroll takes you to the seashore, your wet footprints may surprise you by glowing in the dark! The phenomenon is also seen as shining blue-white surf or the luminous wake that boats create. Though many marine organisms have the ability to glow, along our shores,it's likely that the single-celled Noctiluca is responsible for your glowing footprints. The planktonic organism belongs to a group of protozoans known as dinoflagellates, a tongue-twister name derived from the Greek words for whirling and tail. Dino's, for short, are believed to be among the most ancient of living things, considered by those who study the origins of life to be the ancestral pool from which both plants and animals arose. Favorable ocean conditions occasionally allow Noctiluca to reach amazing densities. A handful of sea water may hold trillions- making them visible to the naked eye, and dazzling lucky observers with their subtle luminescence.

Written & Illustrated by Christine Elder

Life Form of the Month

2008-05-20T11:54:00.000-07:00

The round-leaved sundew, Drosera rotundifolia, is a diminutive but deadly cousin of the Venus fly trap. Its proper name co0mes from the Greek word meaning "dewy", a reference to the plant's glistening droplets of sticky liquid mounted at the tips of touch-sensitive tentacles. Resembling sweet smelling crystal balls, they serve to fatally attract all manner of flying insects. The hapless creature that alights on this surface begins a futile struggle to free itself from adhesive bonds that are like living flypaper. The more the prey panics, the more its fate is sealed-because each movement signals the sundew to release yet more of the glue-like substance. The tentacle-bearing leaf blade encircles the now-entombed prey by a process of nearly instantaneous growth, . Within several days all that remains of the sundew's meal are the undigestible exoskeleton and wings.
Written & Illustrated by Christine Elder

Now Blooming

2008-05-20T10:35:00.000-07:00

The sticky monkeyflower, Mimulus aurentiacus, is blooming profusely this May along the steep, southfacing slopes of the Yuba River. This is a great time of year to go flower watching along the lower elevation chaparral and oakwoodlands, for soon the flowers will have gone to seed in the summer's heat. Watch also for poppies, stonecrop, penstemon, globe lilies, golden brodeia, lupine.... you get the idea.

Sierra Newts Feeling Frisky

2008-05-20T07:21:00.000-07:00

What a life! Sierra newts, Taricha torosa sierrae, return to small streams in the foothills in late winter and spring, to breed.

This photo was taken in March along the Yuba River, while taking a hike with my good friend & ornithologist Kristen. We watched this lively ball of individuals, most likely several males forming a ball around a female, competing to be the first to fertilize her eggs. Sometimes you'll see dozens of individuals in a stretch of streambed.

With amphibians in global decline, it is so refreshing to see some populations thriving.

2008-05-19T19:52:00.000-07:00