It’s a book! After a While, Crocodile was a long time in the making. It went through many renditions and passed long periods resting in a drawer before morphing into the book it is today.
Kittiwake /
Question: What is a KITTIWAKE (ki’-ti-wayk)?…
A) the wave created by a catamaran sailboat
B) when a cat rousts you from slumber by licking your nose
C) a seabird in the gull family
Answer: C) a seabird in the gull family
Illustration from, After a While Crocodile.
Meet the Kittiwake and other critters in my next picture book, After a While, Crocodile. Coming August 6th from Familius Books!!! It’s available to preorder now!
House Finches At the Feeder /
House Finches At the Feeder
• acrylic on canvas
• 26 in. x 28 in. framed
This painting is inspired by the view from our dining room table. The room has a large window that provides a view of the backyard. A mere body’s length beyond the glass, a bird feeder dangles from a shepherd’s crook bird feeder stand. The feeder is a tube filled with seeds, surrounded by wire mesh large enough to allow access for the birds, and small enough to prevent squirrels (as clever and tenacious as they are) from reaching the seeds. In early summer, mom & dad House Finch bring fledglings to the feeder. My intent with this painting was not to realistically recreate the scene, but rather capture the flurry of activity as three or four House Finch families jockey for position at feeding stations.
There is a certain geometry I found interesting in this pseudo-natural setting—the square grid of the wire mesh, the circular openings in the cylindrical glass, the vertical pattern of the fence surrounding the yard. I also chose to incorporate subtle architectural elements as a nod to this species’ name, and its propensity to hang around suburban homes. There is a contrast and interplay between this geometry and the natural shapes of a juniper tree, a rose bush, curvilinear landscape beds, and dappled patches of sun and shade created by the maple tree presiding over one end of the yard.
Lemon-yellow patches of sunlit grass interlace aqua-green shadows. Dusty red finches and fuchsia roses contrast with emerald-green metal trim on the feeder. I placed one of the circular feeding ports near the center of the composition. It serves as an anchor for the surrounding action.
It’s not important to me that the viewer recognize birds and other elements in the painting. In fact, the painting’s title is the main thing that tethers it to reality. Rather, I hope to communicate a sense of ebullience—what I feel on a summer afternoon watching the House Finches at the feeder.
This painting is available for purchase at SNW Gallery.
Gallery /
I'm delighted to share news that several of my paintings are on display at SNW Gallery! Additional works can be viewed on the gallery website. If you are in the vicinity, stop by SNW Gallery. They are in a beautiful space in downtown Manhattan, KS. There's nothing like up close, in person experiences with original art.
Backyard Birds - Collection 6 /
I’ve added a NEW set of note cards to my shop. The pack includes eight cards and envelopes. Each card features my illustration of a bird. There is a blurb about the bird on the back of the card.
NEW set of note cards, Backyard Birds - Collection 6.
Card front.
Card back.
This note card set and many others may be purchased from my shop and from my Etsy shop, BradSneedStudio.
Upland Game Birds Note Cards /
I’ve added a NEW set of note cards to my shop. The pack includes eight cards and envelopes. Each card features an illustration of an upland game bird. There is a blurb about the bird on the back of the card.
NEW set of note cards —Upland Game Birds.
Card front.
Card back.
This set features a Greater sage-grouse, American woodcock, Mourning dove, Northern bobwhite, Ring-necked pheasant, California quail, Wild turkey, and Greater prairie chicken.
This note card set and many others may be purchased from my shop and from my Etsy shop, BradSneedStudio.
Lucky Russell -30 Years /
Lucky Russell was published 30 years ago, this fall! It was my second illustrated book and my first as an author. I’m a better painter now, but I’m still happy with how the book turned out. Best of all, looking at it again, brings back the joy I felt when holding it for the first time so long ago.
Jitterbird /
The Ruby-crowned kinglet is a a tiny, (not much bigger than a hummingbird) active backyard visitor. It skitters about the foliage, flicking its wings constantly, like a water droplet on a hot skillet. It’s a challenge to track this little firecracker when using binoculars. I created this abstract painting inspired by this energetic little bird.
The original painting, Jitterbird - Ruby-crowned Kinglet, is in a private collection.