Marsh Illustration

July 14, 2025July 13, 2025 | terriaw

I’m excited to share another new illustration piece to add to my portfolio and the next one in my series of habitats – it’s a Marsh Collage!

Instead of doing a sketch first, I made a tiny version using the Hahnemuhle Agave Watercolor 8 x 10.5 cm pad as an experiment, just playing around one night.

I liked it so much I decided to make a larger version. I

illustrated the marsh background on a large piece of Arches hot press watercolor paper with watercolor and colored pencils.

And then I illustrated the wildlife on separate paper, cut them out and taped them into the landscape with foam double-sided tape to give them a more 3D look.

Click here to check out my first one – a marsh wetlands and here to see my second one in the series – the shoreline. Stay tuned for the next habitat illustration in this series.

Contact me to hire me for similar work!

Shoreline Collage Illustration

June 23, 2025June 23, 2025 | terriaw

My next ecosystem illustration in my series is a shoreline!

I started out with a large piece of Arches watercolor hot press 12 in. x 16 in. paper and painted a shoreline background.

I added details with colored pencils.

And then I added bits of paper to figure out what size to draw the wildlife.

I painted shore birds and shells on another piece of the same watercolor paper.

Before cutting them out, I took a photo, brought them into Photoshop and cleaned up each bird and seashell into a separate motif so I can make a new pattern with this theme.

Shoreline Bird Illustrations by Terri Wilhelm

Finally, I placed each motif on the shoreline background with a piece of foam tape to give them a 3D effect.

This is becoming a series so stay tuned for the next habitat illustration!

Lunchbox Tiny Art

June 12, 2025June 12, 2025 | terriaw

I’ve been making a little illustration on a tiny piece of paper for the past few months that I slip into my husband’s lunchbox on Friday mornings.

Sometimes the illustration includes a little encouragement or motivation to get through the day.

Sometimes it’s just a fun little story.

I found a pack of watercolor cards in my stash that are about the same size as a standard business card, a perfect canvas to whip up a little illustration and remind him he’s not alone.

I’m on a roll of bringing positivity to the world so I’m going to keep going!

Wouldn’t these tiny illustrations make great greeting cards or a deck of inspiration cards?! Hit the subscribe button to see more of what’s to come.

Bird Nerd

May 6, 2025May 5, 2025 | terriaw

I discovered recently that I’m a bird nerd! I’ve always love birdwatching, especially the challenges of trying to get a photo and identifying them.

Often times, they move too quickly to get a photo. So I’m happy to be able to illustrate them.

I recently saw a ruby-crowned kinglet in my yard for the first time. I wasn’t familiar with this bird so I loved learning about it by drawing and painting it.

Then decided to turn this into a theme, illustrating migrating birds I’ve only seen passing through, like this white-throated sparrow. I identified them by their high-pitched, piercing whistle.

I’ve only seen a flicker once and would love to see them more. They remind me of a red-bellied woodpecker which I see all the time.

I don’t see Baltimore orioles too often, and usually remember to put out jelly and orange slices a little too late. But I’m grateful I’ve seen then a couple times.

And last, the scarlet tanager which I’ve only seen once in my yard or anywhere. It was quite a thrill!

I used a variety of mixed media, starting with a base of watercolor, then adding details with colored pencils, Neocolor II water soluable pastels, and white ink for highlights.

There are so many birds that I could spend a lifetime watching them and illustrating them!

Marsh Wetlands Collage

Marsh wetlands illustration by Terri Wilhelm

March 31, 2025March 31, 2025 | terriaw

I’m so excited to share this new illustration piece I finished in March!

I did some sketching first in my sketchbook to brainstorm ideas and test out different scene compositions and birds.

Then I illustrated the marsh background on a large piece of Arches hot press watercolor paper with watercolor and colored pencils.

I illustrated the birds on a separate sheet and cut them out.

Voila, my first collage illustration!

I started with the idea of illustrating birds since I haven’t focused on that in a while, which led to researching birds that live in a marsh wetlands habitat. I didn’t want to illustrate the birds and then have to do a background around them which led me to the idea of this collage. It turned out even better than my imagination!

I’m on a roll this year completing a bigger illustration project like this (outside of my sketchbook) each month, the Stargazing animals series in January, the Woodlands Map in February, and this Marsh Wetlands in March. Stay tuned for what’s to come in April!

Wood Lands Map

February 27, 2025February 26, 2025 | terriaw

There’s always a big list of ideas to draw, brewing in my head. My husband recently suggested I draw a map. Which I jumped on right away. I love looking at maps!

This illustration project was a lot of fun to play make believe and dream up a new wood lands.

I started out with a version in my sketchbook using colored pencils. I loved it so much I did a second version on Arches paper with watercolor paints so I could have it as a stand-alone print.

This illustrated map is full of deer grazing in a clover meadow, fox and raccoons drinking from a river, bunnies romping among the trees, squirrels hanging out in their tree hollow, turkeys chasing each other, bear surveying the woods where their secret den is. There’s also a crow and hawk flying overhead.

Fallen logs allow for crossing the river and tracks help you make your way on the trail. A couple run-down outbuildings might be a good spot to rest and have a picnic.

January’s great illustration project was all about Stargazing, February was all about this woodlands illustration map. Stay tuned for next month’s great illustration project!

More Wild Things

February 11, 2025February 11, 2025 | terriaw

I’ve been on a roll illustrating lots of wreaths lately with fun hand-lettered sayings.

And then I’m loving turning them into stickers, magnets, coasters, ornaments and postcards.

You can find all of these wonderful illustrations on a variety of products in my sticker shop here on my website and in my pop-up print-on-demand shop. I’d love it if you go check them out and let me know what you think.

Stargazing

February 3, 2025February 2, 2025 | terriaw

January is always a great month to stargaze – the air is crisp, skies are dark and clear.

I’m excited to share my new illustration series called Stargazing.

I really love how these illustrations turned out. I did them with watercolor, colored pencils and Neo Color II wax pastels on hot press watercolor paper.

I’m planning to order postcards and stickers so far, but there are many other nature gift shop-oriented products out there, like this adorable zipper pouch.

ZipperPouch-StargazingAnimals-TerriWilhelm

Remember to look up at the night sky and keep dreaming!

Commission Illustrations

December 27, 2024December 27, 2024 | terriaw

I was recently commissioned to illustrate two animals – a Peregrine Falcon and a Duck-Billed Platypus.

I decided to illustrate two versions of the Peregrine Falcon, one standing on a beach and another in flight.

The Duck-Billed Platypus is a strange creature, in a cute way.

Each illustration is on a 6 inch by 8 inch piece of hot press watercolor paper using watercolor and colored pencils. I framed each one with an 8 inch by 10 inch mat frame I cut out from cold press watercolor paper.

Contact me if you’re interested in commissioning an animal illustration of your own!

Terri's Notebook

Illustration, Animals + Nature

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