Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦

Started this wolf in Montreal and finished it just as the train pulled into Sainte-Foy. Pentel Orenz Nero .3 and .5, 2B and 4B lead. Redid the nose. Tried to suggest light by drawing dark. No graphite powder though, VIA wouldn't have loved that. #sciart

Sketched this puffin on the train between Ottawa and Dorval with one Pentel Nero .5 mm w/4B, blending stumps and Bluetack. Quick and rough. I'm starting to think in drawing time units. Two more puffins to Quebec City. #graphite #sciart

Coyotes around here often sound like they're right in the yard, so a howling one felt like the obvious subject. Leuchtturm1917 sketchbook, Drehgriffel with 2B, blender and kneadable eraser. Not perfect, but time drawing is the point. Code MIKE20 on the Leuchtturm Canada site for 20% off

Found a slug hugging a mushroom in our forest, in a spot we call Chickadee Hollow, and had to paint it. Same, I love my food that much too. QoR watercolors on cold press in a handmade sketchbook. Small piece, big joy. #invertfest #sciart

Two wildebeest in the heat. Spent this one on subtlety and color mixing, in watercolor with my Pentel aqua brushes, in a brand new Luchetti sketchbook. Inspired by a Mandy Mitchell photo. Light, gentle washes only on hot press. #sciart

Broke in a handmade 3” by 3” sketchbook from a local creative with two hungry young swallows. 20 minutes, Pentel water brushes and QoR watercolours on Saint Armand cold press, which I never use. Wicked rough paper. Might be into it. #sciart #bird

Finally got back to this African fish eagle. Graphite in the sketchbook, Pentel GraphGear 1000s in .3 and .5, a couple of blending stumps, Blu-Tack for the highlights. Retirement is busier than I expected. It felt good to find some time and just draw feathers. #sciart #bird

Working through some power and strength with this one. Tiger in graphite, .3 and .5 GraphGear pencils. Loved this quiet reference, no drama, just the tiger resting against the bark. #sciart

Most people head to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for the birds. This chipmunk begged to be seen and heard instead. A visit never disappoints. QoR watercolors, Pentel Aquash brushes, Etchr A6 hot press sketchbook. Chipmunks are my most requested subject. ;-) #sciart

Sketched this water buffalo with a single .5mm Pentel pencil, split across two days around surgery. Chose the subject partly because of the rope, a kind of restraint that felt familiar with two IV lines in my hands. Toughest sketch I've done from a place of physical weakness. #sciart

Sketched this cricket in graphite while recovering from surgery, five days in the hospital thinking about the crickets that keep me up at night. Pentel .3 and .5, Blu-Tack for highlights. Glad to be home and glad to hear them again. #sciart

Closed out my Ithaca sketchbook with this anhinga. Etchr A5, Pentel water brushes, QoR watercolors. It's all water in this one, no sky, just the surface catching blue near the horizon and warming to tan up close. Masked the bird, branches, and reflections before painting it. #sciart #bird

This is the result of a 30 minute sketch through a spotting scope inside the Cornell Lab of Ornithology visitor centre in Ithaca, NY. This osprey moved just as I started. Tried the best I could. #bird #drawing

Quick raven sketch, mid call. Worked the .3 and .5 graphite pencils to get that near black feather range without losing the shape. Ravens hold grudges for years apparently, feels right for a bird drawn looking this deliberate. Done at a coffee shop table in Ithaca. #birds

Our red squirrels have far more conservative ears, so this tufted little one felt like a fun challenge. But the branch sealed the deal. All that moss and texture. QoR watercolors and a Pentel Aquash brush in my Etchr A5 sketchbook. #sciart

I don’t often talk about my day job but my retirement is coming up so here’s a blurb about my tech side. ohri.ca/en/newsroom/...

Last drawing in the sketchbook and it had to be a giraffe. Rendered with Pentel GraphGear mechanicals and Blu-Tack for highlights. Mandy Mitchell's photography was the spark. No regrets. Full pages.

Painted this harvest mouse over a few coffee shop sessions with Golden QoR watercolors and Pentel Aquash brushes. Something about something this small, holding on so confidently, just made me want to pay attention. #sciart

Watch out for turtles — it’s that time of year. Found this snapping turtle laying eggs at the roadside near the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and watched from my car. Drew her later with GraphGear 1000 pencils, Blu-Tack, and blenders. She knew that spot long before the road was there. #sciart

Baby killdeer, just a few days old. I’ve been watching these little ones tear around like they’re running from something only they can see, and when David O’Neill caught this photo. Golden QoR watercolors on Etchr hot press, Pentel Aquash fine and medium tips. #sciart #bird

Found this American toad on a trail at Taughannock Falls, just sitting there watching us hike by. Drew it in graphite over a few coffee shop sessions. Somewhere in the middle it stopped feeling like a drawing and started feeling like sculpture. Knew it was done when it held still for me. #sciart

Spent two slow coffee shop mornings in Ithaca NY on this Atlantic puffin. Watercolor in my Etchr hot press sketchbook, Pentel Aquash brushes, backup palette pulled out for those beak colors. Strangers kept stopping to chat. #sciart #bird

Spent the week with this harvest mouse. All graphite, GraphGear 1000 in three weights, and the branch took longer than the mouse did. Retirement is coming up in August and I am finally letting drawings take the time they want to take and taking days off like today to do that. #sciart

I spent a full day at an AI for Health Summit but I did spend an hour on this at a coffee shop before I started my day. Priorities. :-) #sciart #graphite #artist

Drew a southern leopard frog in graphite this week. I think I’ve drawn more frogs than any other animal at this point. It’s become a way to measure how my hands have changed. The texture on this one would not let me put the pencil down. #sciart #pencil

Tawny owl and a field mouse on opposite posts, barbed wire between them. Watercolor in the sketchbook, Aquash brushes, QoR paints. Took me a few days to get back to this one. Work has been heavy. But I am retiring August 1 to do this full time. Soft landing into a new chapter. #sciart #bird

Drew this African penguin this morning trying to quiet a loud week. GraphGear 1000s in a small sketchbook, started at a coffee shop, finished in a hospital cafeteria. Ninety minutes that felt like three hours. Exactly what I needed. #sciart #bird #graphite

Finished this gyrfalcon at a coffee shop today. QoR watercolors, Etchr hot press sketchbook, fine and medium Pentel water brushes. Let it stay looser than I usually would. Felt good to just let the softness be there. #sciart #watercolor #art

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Highland cattle graphite study — layers of shaggy fur, loose graphite powder for the background, and Blu-Tack to pull out the light. These animals are endlessly drawable. #sciart #graphite🐄✏️

Started this wanting to draw horns. Ended up drawing silence. Bighorn sheep in winter, rendered with Pentel GraphGear 1000s — the .2mm for tiny bare branches, the .5mm 4B for all that fur and shadow. This one was a true joy.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ #sciart #graphite

Quick sketch at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Volunteers had everyone drawing their bird. Standard colored pencils they had on hand, spare paper, 15 minutes of good conversation. Landed on the Northern Hawk Owl. Those eyes did most of the work. #bird #artist #cornell

Started a sketch of a big horn sheep this morning. So much change happening this year. Nice to find a few mins to sketch.

Painted this barn owl on a trading card sized piece using Pentel Aquash brushes and QoR watercolors. Worked from a photo reference. Owls are magical. This series is quietly becoming one of my favorite things I make. #sciart #bird

Sketched an eastern spadefoot in my tiny sketchbook using Pentel GraphGear 1000 pencils (.2 HB, .3 2B, .5 4B). Weird little amphibian that isn't really a frog or a toad. They can stay buried underground for months or years, waiting for rain. #sciart #pencil #art

Just finished this cedar waxwing artist trading card. Painted with QoR watercolors on hot press paper using a Pentel water brush. Waxwings love berries so much they sometimes get tipsy from fermented fruit. Painting this felt like holding a quiet breath. Affordable originals ;-) #bird #sciart

Lunchtime stop at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca. Two 15 minute ballpoint sketches. A black capped chickadee and a tufted titmouse. I left them on the inspiration wall. Tiny birds. Tiny drawings. Somehow it still feels like leaving a small conversation with nature behind. #sciart #bird

Started this tiny gray mouse lemur sketch over coffee in a café in Ithaca and finished it after work. A father and daughter nearby asked to see the sketchbook which was a nice surprise. Graphite with Pentel Graphgear pencils. Fun fact: gray mouse lemurs are the smallest primates on Earth. #sciart

I’m back in Ithaca NY visiting my daughter for a few days. Of course I sketched over some coffee at Ithaca Bakery before starting my day. #wip #sciart

A pair of chestnut breasted mannikins on thin twigs, started on the train and finished with all that track rhythm still in the lines. Pentel Graphgear 1000 in 2B, 4B, HB. Blender and BluTack to shape the graphite. These birds move in social flocks, almost like shared breath. #bird #sciart #graphite

Started this European barn owl yesterday on the train to Toronto and finished it waiting to head back to Ottawa. Painted in my A6 Etchr sketchbook with Pentel Aquash brushes and Golden QoR watercolors. #sciart #bird

Train ride to Toronto, tiny sketchbook open. Drew this Cooper's hawk from photos I took near downtown Ottawa. Pentel GraphGear 1000 .5 mm with 4B lead. They can pivot mid air to chase prey through trees. Sketching it felt steadier than the rails. #bird #sciart

Malignant. I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and surgery is coming soon. Season 2 of the podcast is delayed and I will not be teaching until fall. This western grebe, painted in QoR watercolors with Pentel Aquash pens, reminds me that even on water that feels unsteady, we can still rise.

Malignant. I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and surgery is coming soon. The podcast is delayed and I will not be teaching until fall. This western grebe, painted with QoR watercolors with Pentel Aquash pens, reminds me that even on water that feels unsteady, we can still rise. #birds #sciart

Gave this pangolin 45 mins last night. Been avoiding it for months--was saving it for oils. But I needed to draw, even if it was quick. One pencil (4B), no erasing, no blending, no glasses. Just marks and motion. Sometimes the sketch is the real piece. The oil will come. #sciart #pencil

This 👇💯

Finally finished this Barbary striped grass mouse using Pentel Graphgear 1000s (.3 and .5). I used a tortillon for the blur and BluTack for those tiny highlights. I honestly might enjoy drawing the bark more than the mouse. Reference by the great Edwin Butter. #sciart

Sketched this goldfinch over two quiet mornings. They’re great subjects for beginner or seasoned artists. Subtle textures, soft value shifts, no pressure to get loud. Pentel GraphGear .3 & .5 pencils (2B/4B) and a tortillon to blend. #bird #sciart

Painted this northern hawk owl after it made a surprise visit to our city. Got lost in its eyes and those stripes. Watercolor in an A6 Etchr sketchbook, Golden paints, Art Toolkit palette. Referenced a photo by Harry Foster. Quiet but somehow loud inside. #bird #sciart

Finished this sketch in a coffee shop this morning. I tried to capture every wrinkle like a memory. Two pencils, two blenders, and way too much time spent on flung mud and the elephant’s shadow. Elephants don’t just survive, they wear life. #sciart #elephant #art