Looking ahead

Here's what we'll be doing in coming weeks

The spring equinox is upon us. Winter is (mostly) fading away in the rearview mirror. The soil is warming and the natural world is waking up. Here we are again, in the season of renewal and hope.

In response to several requests - and thank you for emails or messages with ideas and suggestions - we’ll spend the next few weeks exploring techniques that combine watercolor and ink. There is magic in the marriage of line and wash. Our projects will include two inspired by Victorian naturalists, one by antique field guide illustrations, and one that might be the world’s messiest but most fun way to create botanical art: ink resist.

Help! Unclaimed giveaways:

Two book giveaways from previous months have gone unclaimed. Hopefully, the winners will see their names here and let me know where to send their books.

Miriam Ober won The Comfort of Crows, a wonderful celebration of nature by Margaret Renkl.

Val N. won The Seabird’s Cry by Adam Nicolson, a master at writing about history, birds, and the sea.

Next phenology wheel livestream: March 28

Join me on Saturday, March 28, for a Substack live. I’ll be adding March to my phenology wheel. I’d love to hear about your phenology wheel - or anything else you might have been drawing lately! Our session will last an hour, starting at 1pm Central Time US.

Thank you, lovers of birds and antique maps

My grandmother believed that winged creatures are messengers between two worlds. She meant that a moth or a bluejay might be a sign from departed kinfolk, but I interpret her words differently. My winged creatures are caught between an old world and a new one: I use the use the faded words on old maps and letters to evoke all that has already passed out of our sight. I draw with a disposable ballpoint pen, the ultimate symbol of the new and temporary. So many of our birds are declining, and may eventually become memories themselves.

After the 2026 Alabama Audubon Bird of the year art was revealed — a pair of scissor-tailed flycatchers swooping across an original 1901 state map — commissions for other birds on other antique maps have been arriving in my inbox. Thank you so much! I have had the pleasure of drawing a turkey vulture, a raven, a crow, and a sandhill crane. Future drawings include a brown pelican, an American kestrel, and a snail kite. I will post them after they have flown to their new homes.

If you would like the bird of your choice drawn on an antique map of any state or region, email me: studio@valwebb.com

A few final things

My studio website is https://valwebb.wordpress.com

My online shop/gallery for miniature watercolors is https://verytinystudio.com

My other Substack, which is a collection of online courses created over 14 years, is 32artcourses.substack.com

Have a request, a question, or just want to say hello? My email is studio@valwebb.com