Mike Hendley

Tried painting a sloth without it turning into green mush. Layered strange shadow colors and fought for fur texture at this size. Honestly kinda proud of how soft it turned out. #sciart #watercolor

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

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, so. Yeah. Soft landing into a new chapter. #sciart #bird

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

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.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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

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

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.

Captured this sunset scene at Stewart Park in Ithaca using my new Williamsburg oil set from Golden. Took about 90 minutes, still learning oils and working alla prima. Loved how it turned out!