Tree Canopy Illustration

October 8, 2025 | terriaw

Check out my new habitat illustration – Tree Canopy! I wanted to evoke a tree canopy teeming with wildlife in a playful and artistic way.

I did this illustration similar to my previous ones, with a watercolor background that is a gentle gradient of blues to a warm glow, depicting the sky at dawn or dusk.

And then I added lots of collage elements, beginning with a cut out of a gnarly oak tree canopy.

The big oak tree is centrally placed, with thick, textured brown branches extending outward and upward, with clusters of green oak leaves and acorns and touches of fall color here are there.

Throughout the tree, you will also find woodpeckers, a blue jay, Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal, several crows, a hawk, and owl, a squirrel or two, a chipmunk, even a raccoon and squirrel hiding in their hollows. Two monarch butterflies flutter by.

This piece is three-dimensional full of detailed flora and fauna, beautifully captures the rich ecosystem of a temperate forest during fall, inviting viewers to explore every corner of the scene. Similar to the rest of my series of habitats, this composition balances naturalistic detail and biodiversity with a whimsical, storybook-like charm.

I encourage you to visit my other habitats in this series:

Under the Sea, The Nature Preserve, Marsh, Shoreline, Marsh Wetlands, Stargazing and Woodlands Map.

Under the Sea Illustration

August 19, 2025August 22, 2025 | terriaw

Check out my new habitat illustration – Under the Sea! I wanted to evoke a sense of the rich biodiversity of coral reefs and ocean life in a playful and artistic way.

I did this illustration similar to my previous ones, with a watercolor background that is a gentle gradient of blues, depicting the sea from shallow to deeper water as it moves downward. And then I added collage elements.

I love the lone seagull floating at the surface of the water with three more circling in the distance.

I added lots of marine life, from a sea turtle swimming peacefully, to a shark lurking in the background, to an octopus among the coral reef and sea plants to a variety of fish in different sizes, shapes and colors scattered through.

The ocean floor has a variety of red, yellow, purple, and pink hues, enhancing the diversity of the ecosystem, with long swaying seaweed framing the corner.

Another whimsical, colorful, and educational illustration, for educational purposes or storybook art.

I almost forgot to tell you that I used fluorescent paint in a few spots and this is what the original looks like when shining a blue light on it!

Check out my other habitats in this series: The Nature Preserve, Marsh, Shoreline, Marsh Wetlands, Stargazing and Woodlands Map.

The Nature Preserve illustration

Nature Preserve Illustration by Terri Wilhelm

August 19, 2025August 19, 2025 | terriaw

Welcome to another habitat illustration in my series!

This illustration of a nature preserve—created using a blend of watercolor, colored pencils and collage techniques—presents a vibrant, lively forest scene full of detailed textures and diverse wildlife. This was inspired by a recent hike I did in The Ridges Sanctuary in Baileys Harbor where we saw these wonderful creatures in this beautiful habitat!

The scene centers around a gently winding stream that flows around and through lush green meadows and a dense forest in the background with flora and fauna collage elements giving a slightly raised, 3D effect.

I included a mix of conifers and deciduous trees, added grasses, small shrubs, grasses, flowers and mushrooms to fill the forest floor. I also added rocks and ripples in the stream to create depth, a turtle hanging out on a fallen log and a frog leaping.

The composition is teeming with wildlife, each animal individually cut and pasted, giving a slightly raised, three-dimensional effect, from an egret wading at the water’s edge, a deer standing nearby, a mink scurrying across a fallen log covered with mushrooms, two wild turkey roaming a grassy area, a blue jay in flight, a woodpecker clinging to a tree, a monarch and dragonfly hovering above the water, and owl perched high in the tree.

The soft watercolor textures, three-dimensional collage elements, flowing transitions and natural color palette create a whimsical, handcrafted charm reminiscent of children’s book illustrations or educational posters.

I wanted to convey a scene of layered details of a healthy, diverse forest habitat, leaving the viewer with a peaceful experience to discover this ecological richness.

Check out my other illustrations in this eco system series: Woodlands Map, Marsh Wetlands, Shoreline, and a Marsh.

Stay tuned for the next one in this series!

Adding To My Fabric Stash

July 26, 2011 | terriaw

I haven’t purchased much fabric this year, so I’m excited to share some new treasures I’ve added to my stash over the past few months.

First up, I was so impressed with my local quilt shop when I found out they are carrying Anna Maria Horner‘s new Loulouthi collection. I rarely buy fabrics for the backing before I make a quilt, so I’m happy to have yardage of that brown print on the bottom of this stack to back a future quilt with.

These are the fabrics I bought at Gruber’s Quilt Shop over my quilting retreat weekend. I picked up the Anna Maria print from the Good Folks collection first (one the far right), and then coordinated the rest with it, most of which ended up going into my Maverick Star Wallhanging. I didn’t use that polka dot print in the middle, so it will be a great basic addition to my stash.

I always need more basics in my stash, so I picked out this next stack for fun.

I missed out on the Flea Market Fancy craze so I decided to buy a few of my favorite prints from Denyse Schmidt‘s fabric collection for JoAnn’s. I think they will work well as basics too.