drawing: everglades wildlife
May 3, 2013
I spent some time in the Florida, documenting various wildlife with photography and drawing. I was most anxious to see an alligator in the flesh… err, in the scales, rather. It would have been a shame to go all the way to Florida and not see gators. Well, the Everglades has an abundance of these smiling massive reptiles, basking in the sun. They are practically posing for you.
Still, alligators are not the only exotic animals to see. Visitors from everywhere come here to experience world-class bird watching. I come here more to fish watch and reptile watch. My next priority after seeing gators was to spot turtles. Again, this National Park did not disappoint. I saw dinosaur-sized turtles.
Here is my sketch (a work in progress) which is a snapshot of an Everglades scene. It includes mangroves, a soft-shelled turtle and of course, a gator. The proximity of this many animals in one area is really not unheard of, in the Glades.
blog.designosaur.us 
May 13, 2013 at 9:29 am
Love the point-of-view!! Can’t wait to see the finished product.
May 14, 2013 at 12:35 pm
i hope to post the finished piece soon.
thank you for your comment, sam!
July 13, 2013 at 4:29 am
Interesting piece. Still, i would really like to see the original field sketches. Chances are they will be simpler and less perfect but full of energy.
July 13, 2013 at 10:27 am
thanks for comment. true, my animals are not lively.
July 14, 2013 at 7:16 pm
Hey – I wasn’t criticising your posted pieces. But I noticed that you had photos of the everglades and guessed you might have sketched too and, if anything like me, became disappointed and so have not shown them. What I have learned is that people, other people and certainly me, really enjoy the rougher sketches from life for all their faults. So if you did sketch as well as take photos, they might be worth looking at again.
There are lots of assumptions in this comment, and if they are all wrong, just ignore me. I like your drawings and finished pieces by the way.
July 15, 2013 at 11:46 am
thanks for the followup, kestrelart. i first learned what a kestrel was when i tried out a kayak by wilderness systems called a kestrel, then i saw them in person in florida. beautiful birds they are. and you capture them in your art with a nice free flowing lines. i have been trying to be more loose in my life drawings and your style inspires me.