Cougar, Mountain lion, Puma, Florida Panther..... Whatever you want to call the largest of the small cat species, Puma concolor is one of North America's most elusive and enchanting felines to roam the wilderness. This post will focus on the step-by-step process I did while drawing the cougar mount from the Field Museum's exhibit hall. … Continue reading Cougar portrait in pastel
Field Museum
The daily grind gives artistic inspiration
After the Field Museum Women in Science and Art blog post, many of you wanted to find out more about what is new about my job at the museum. As most of you have read in one of my past posts (Yes, I do have a job to pay the bills...) a couple years ago, … Continue reading The daily grind gives artistic inspiration
Women in Science and Art
Women in Science and Art: Rebecca Banasiak, Mammals Collections Assistant and Preparator In March, many of my colleagues and I, were asked to answer some questions about what it is like to be either a women in science or a women in art. I am lucky enough to be one of the few who was … Continue reading Women in Science and Art
Sketchbook Projects, part 1
Sketchbook Project 2016 This is my fourth year participating in the Brooklyn Art Library's Sketchbook Project. Opportunities in art don't come very often, but something like this is an opportunity that all artists should take advantage of. I came across this project by chance while checking out one of the other artist sites I follow … Continue reading Sketchbook Projects, part 1
AAF @ the Field Museum
The first two months have been crazy for me. I've been doing a lot of cleaning, both at my regular job at the museum and also in my studio. But there have been some good things happening as well. First, I was part of Lewis University's President's Show. Also had three pieces picked for a … Continue reading AAF @ the Field Museum
Where has the time gone…
Wow! It has been about nine months since the last post. Too much has been going on at work that posting what I am doing in the studio and in the exhibit halls has taken the back burner. I have been trying to set time aside but to no avail, the time escapes me. You … Continue reading Where has the time gone…
Nigel, the Brown pelican – Part 2
Nigel is back and finally finished! In my last post about the brown pelican, Nigel (yes, after the pelican from Finding Nemo), I wrote about how I started to create this illustration: drawing the outline, shading and color decisions, and starting detail. This post touches on the rest of detail and making decisions about whether … Continue reading Nigel, the Brown pelican – Part 2
Nigel, the Brown pelican – Part 1
It's a bird... it's a plane... Nah, it's just a brown pelican named Nigel. In my last post, I talked about some goals I had and one of them was to finish artwork I started last year (and the year before, and the year before that, and so on). Well, the brown pelican will be … Continue reading Nigel, the Brown pelican – Part 1
“Yes, I do have another job to pay the bills…”
...is the answer I am constantly telling people when they ask me if I "make lots of money selling my art". It has always been a pain in the $%# to describe how many and what types of jobs I have and why I have them. I actually have two other jobs besides the "full time" job of … Continue reading “Yes, I do have another job to pay the bills…”
The Brush Hilt 