a.niedzielski

2009-12-15T16:14:00.000-08:00

Two more storm drawings from this fall. The bottom one was in a show at Morpho Gallery in Chicago for a few weeks this November.

2009-12-14T15:33:00.000-08:00

I've got to update before the year's over so here's a short series of drawings I did this autumn of dried flowers/seed pods. Will try to get better quality images up as soon as I get my hands on a scanner.

Gavia immer

2009-07-22T20:27:00.000-07:00

I love the latin name for the Common Loon. Their calls are spooky and absolutely wonderful to hear.

Bald Eagle

2009-07-21T08:30:00.000-07:00

Another commission. This time of Haliaeetus leucocephalus:

Northern Cardinal

2009-07-20T08:17:00.000-07:00

Cardinalis cardinalis commission for an Audubon auction in the fall:

Winslow Homer

2009-07-18T09:54:00.000-07:00

A few Homer paintings that I copied for my final watercolor class.

It's been a little too long

2009-07-13T15:02:00.000-07:00

Well I'm finally posting again after about 3 months. But there were reasons - graduation, a study trip to Europe, and 3 weeks living in a home with no Internet. There will be more posts this week at least and hopefully more often afterwards. Here's a photo of Coot's in the gardens at Buckingham Palace in London. Also, a collage showing the accordion book I was working on this semester - Owls of North America.

2009-04-13T18:54:00.000-07:00

Swan study skins in the Field's collections:

2009-04-10T07:00:00.000-07:00

This was a commission done a few months ago for someone I met at our school's winter art sale! It gave me a great excuse (not that I really need one) to check out the swan and peacock study skins in the Field Museum. The original is about 9" x 12"; One of my favorite recent drawings.

2009-04-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

Some photos of the AWESOME bird I worked on last week - a Great Blue Heron. This is the second one I've prepared into a study skin. It's bill is as big as my hand and could probably pierce right through it. Crazy.

BFA Show

2009-04-08T18:49:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a very long time -

My last undergrad semester has proven a worthy opponent to my free time.

The Undergraduate Exhibition along with multiple scholarship and grant applications (not to mention my regular homework!) overtook the last 2 months and updating had to come to a halt. But now I'm hoping to scrounge together a few minutes to post more regularly.

Here's a picture from the gallery; the drawings are pretty big - 18" x 24" & 22" x 30" not including the matting.

It's been awhile

2009-01-12T09:39:00.000-08:00

Well, now that I haven't posted anything for about 3 weeks (Winter break and beginning of my winter semester art history class...) it's about time to update. This is fairly old, however. Almost 2 years ago by now...crazy how time flies! I've still always liked it though because it was quick but still satisfying. Done from a Golden Eagle mount in the Field Museum.

7 a.m.

2008-12-10T18:15:00.000-08:00

It's getting colder outside, and every winter I wonder how gulls can stand hanging out in Lake Michigan in the freezing water. This is an older photograph from a few years ago at Oak Street Beach. It was just below freezing, but he didn't seem to mind.

Bird count:

Northern Goshawk - Accipiter gentilis

Northern Flicker - Colaptes auratus

carry-boo

2008-12-08T18:10:00.000-08:00

It's about time I post something other than a bird. So today is dedicated to one of my favorite mammals, caribou!

Bird count:

2 American Redstarts - Setophaga ruticilla

Black-throated Blue Warbler - Dendroica caerulescens

Whip-poor-will - Caprimulgus vociferus

Mallard duckling - Anas platyrhynchos

Corvus corax

2008-12-07T15:21:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite animals ever; ravens! They have one of the largest brains in proportion to body size of all birds. On top is a commissioned watercolor on tea-stained paper and underneath, another page from my sketchbook.

Back to working on my finals...maybe after supper.

distractions

2008-12-06T22:50:00.000-08:00

This month has been full of distractions; the art sale, new tv shows, birds, the pressing need for sleep, and bunches of other things.

Here's another one. I needed a short break from my attempted all-nighter working on my animation final due in less than a week. Hence my post. A quick drawing from my sketchbook of a peregrine falcon mount in the museum. I was working on a final drawing project of tiny bird skeletons (will be posted later) and got distracted by that pair of eyes staring at me from the end of the counter.

Bird count (from Wednesday)

Ring-billed Gull - Larus delawarensis

Lincoln Sparrow - Zonotrichia lincolnii

purple candy mountain

2008-12-01T17:37:00.000-08:00

Just a little pastel drawing I did this summer on some leftover stained paper. The giant purple blob in the middle didn't seem to work with anything until I turned the paper around and saw the mountain!

Bird count:

2 American Redstarts - Setophaga ruticilla

Black & White Warbler - Mniotilta varia

Mourning Warbler - Geothlypis philadelphia

Chestnut-sided Warbler - Dendroica pensylvanica

sandhill cranes

2008-11-29T12:47:00.000-08:00

Two of my favorite photos from last Sunday's mini-expedition to Indiana's Jasper-Pulaski park to view the annual Sandhill Crane migration. There were tons of cranes in a huge field accompanied by a large number of deer as well. The best part was the crane's sounds multiplied by thousands.

2008-11-28T17:12:00.000-08:00

Wow, it took me over an hour to get home today when it normally takes about 30 minutes. Note to self: don't leave house the day after Thanksgiving - EVER!

The drawings are from the prep lab again. The first is a Dark-eyed Junco I found on the sidewalk in front of the humane society a few weeks ago and the second is a Pintail duckling I made a study skin of after finishing the drawing.

Now my task is to lock myself to my light-table and animate for the next week straight.

Bird count(from Wednesday):

Northern Flicker - Colaptes auratus

American Redstart - Setophaga ruticilla

Black-throated Green Warbler Dendroica virens

Blackpoll Warbler - Dendroica striata

Black and White Warbler - Mniotilta varia

American Goldfinch - Carduelis tristis

100 birds so far...

2008-11-24T15:09:00.000-08:00

From top to bottom:

Great Horned Owl

Carolina Chickadee

Bat Falcon

Common Loon (last two)

Today offered some unique things for me in the prep lab. The American Woodcock I prepared was not only the 100th bird I've prepared this fall semester, it was half-albino. I'll try to get a picture of it up soon. The goldfinch had a plumage I'd never seen before, the Moorhen had a broken beak, and the Red-tailed Hawk that I almost had to skin had been hit so hard by a car that it's heart was forced up into it's throat! Needless to say, when I opened it up, I realized that it was just a little too beat up and will become a skeleton specimen instead.

Bird Count:

American Woodcock - Scolopax minor

Common Moorhen - Gallinula chloropus

American Goldfinch - Carduelis tristis

2008-11-23T09:54:00.000-08:00

As requested, here are a few more bird drawings done on tea-stained paper. From top to bottom the species are as follows: Cedar Waxwing, Western Screech Owl, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and the Northern Cardinal. Well, I'm off to Indiana for the day to see the annual Sandhill Crane migration...more images will be up soon!

Penguins and Pumpkins

2008-11-20T08:23:00.000-08:00

Two of my favorite bird drawings, a Chinstrap Penguin and an Emperor Penguin. Both done on tea-stained paper; drawn with ink, pencil, and white charcoal.

Bird Count (from yesterday):

3 American Redstarts - Setophaga ruticilla

Cape May Warbler - Dendroica tigrina

Also - Smashing Pumpkins concert last night at the Chicago Theater - Awesome! No better way to waste time right before finals than going to a rock concert. Kudos to you, Billy Corgan, for being amazing for 3 hours straight and then coming back out even after admitting you were tired with a cold!

2008-11-18T18:04:00.000-08:00

-one of the ink drawings I did this summer of a screech owl from photos I took at the Lincoln Par Zoo.

The start of a very busy week...

2008-11-17T17:15:00.000-08:00

Here are the 4 original line drawings used to create my screen printed bookmarks for the holiday sale. Hopefully I'll get a chance to scan some of the finished ones before the week is up! From left to right:

Resplendent Quetzal - Pharomachrus mocinno

Gila Woodpecker - Melanerpes uropygialis

Indian Peafowl - Pavo cristatus

Blue-crowned Motmot - Momotus momota

Today was also exciting because I was able to create study skins of the pair of Dark-eyed Juncos I brought into the prep lab exactly one month ago. Hundreds of birds have come in this fall and clogged up the study skin production line, but I was finally able to work on the ones I found. It was very satisfying to complete the entire process myself. (being the one to actually find the birds, and then be able to prepare them before being catalogued into the Field Museum's collections)

Bird count for the day:

2 Dark-eyed Juncos - Junco hyemalis

Rusty Blackbird - Euphagus carolinus

First post in a new blog!

2008-11-16T17:57:00.000-08:00

Well it's about time that I organized a place to show my artwork online! Until I learn how to make my own website, a blog account seems the easiest way to post images and a surprising number of people do just that. So here it is! I'll start off with 3 cloud drawings that I'll be selling prints of at my school's winter art sale this weekend.