Robert Donovan

Integrative Physiology

Graduate Student

Bird Skull - Pencil

I think it’s a jay of some kind (based on the remnants of blue feathers still on the skull). The bird had obviously been killed by a cat or some other small carnivore as it has to puncture wounds in it skull for a bite. I chose this subject for the first project simply because I thought it would be a good subject for pencil and at the time, pencil was the only technique I knew how to do.

Desert Iguana (Dipsosaurus dorsalis) - Watercolor

This is a watercolor of the species that I do most of my research. I’ve spent so much time looking at them that I thought it was something I would be able to do a good job of painting. This individual is a male (you can tell by the extra skin folds around the neck) and is actually one that I took home and is now a pet. The actual size of the animal is about 25cm long so this picture is at about 200%.

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) - Watercolor

This has always been one of my favorite birds. They are very abundant where I grew up and can frequently be seen walking through ponds while they hunt for fish or frogs, which is the scene I was trying for with this painting. I also wanted to get more practice with watercolors and this bird seemed like a great subject for that technique.