Deer on the Run

December 19, 2025 | terriaw

I painted a few quick illustrations lately inspired by the deer you see grazing in the snowy cornfields at dusk in winter.

I love doing this landscape orientation. I cut a piece of Fabriano Studio Watercolor hot press paper size 11 inch by 14 inch in half, taped off the edges for a nice clean frame and painted a dusk background.

Then I worked from the back to the front, painting and penciling in the silhouette of tree along the horizon line, added some remnants of corn stalks in the background, added several deer on the run and filled in with more scrappy piece of leftover cornstalks up to the foreground.

I also made a couple smaller pieces using the Hahnemuhle Agave Watercolor pads whihc com in 8 x 10.5 cm. Such a fun quick size to work on!

I still have the other half to paint a wintery scene on, maybe reindeer grazing in a snowy field or squirrels chasing.

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!

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!

Daydreaming Fox

October 31, 2024 | terriaw

Remember this illustration I did in my sketchbook of a daydreaming fox? I used watercolor for the background and base layer and colored pencils for the details.

With a little Photoshop magic, I turned it into a badge for advertising my illustration business on Illustrators For Hire.

I recently had the illustration printed on a coffee mug and a zipper pouch! How beautiful are these!

Check them out in my new nature center gift shop!

Wild Things

September 11, 2024September 21, 2024 | terriaw

Wild things in my sketchbook lately. I love this theme so much that I’m going to keep filling up more pages like these. I’m working on turning them into repeat patterns for products and new sticker sheets!

Stay tuned for updates on availability to buy products!

Sketchbook Art Lately

ll Good Things are Wild and Free by Terri Wilhelm

August 19, 2024August 19, 2024 | terriaw

I read this advice recently: “Create what sets your heart on fire and let it illuminate your path.” That’s what I’ve been trying to focus on with my sketchbook art lately.

When I was in Minneapolis last month for the ICON12 Illustration Conference, I stayed at my cousin Linda’s house in the country and we saw a doe and three fawns come out of a clearing and cross the road. They were such a lovely sight I wanted to remember in a sketchbook spread, combined with all the wildflowers in bloom in late summer using with watercolors and colored pencils.

I painted a light wash background on this spread and decided it was perfect to draw backyard wild things with my colored pencils.

I love stickers so this sketchbook spread of small vignettes was inspired by nature things I might want to make a sticker from.

I love water more than anything! I love to drink it, swim in it, shower in it, and watch it. I also discovered I have a lot of boat pictures in my photo roll so I did these little vignettes using a watercolor wash background and neocolor II pastels, which I haven’t used much. It was great fun to experiment with a variety of mixed media.

Speaking of watching the water, it’s fun to watch water birds like gulls ride the wind over the waves, so I played with blues and textures in this sketchbook spread.

I’m always working on several art projects at the same time, so stay tuned for more nature and wild things illustrations. And thank you for stopping by!

Zoo life Pattern

July 8, 2024July 7, 2024 | terriaw

I made another new pattern, this one from my zoo animal drawings!

After illustrating a variety of animals on a giant page, I Photoshopped each animal to its own layer and arranged them into this cool pattern.

I also made a badge/banner for use on my website and on my Illustrator For Hire page.

l painted the original layers with watercolor and added details with colored pencils.

I think it’s a fun hero pattern for a new collection, so I’m working on ideas for coordinating and blender prints.

Wouldn’t this be fun for fabric, gift wrap, stationery, and postcards for gift shops or end pages for a picture book?!

Wildlife Pattern

June 28, 2024 | terriaw

I made a new pattern!

After illustrating my page of local wildlife, I started messing around in Photoshop and ended up making this cool pattern.