Drawing Nature: The Creative Process of an Artist, Illustrator, and Naturalist, by Linda Miller Feltner
Princeton University Press, 2024
272 pages, hardcover
ABA Sales–Buteo Books 15433
t’s all in the details. Drawing Nature: The Creative Process of an Artist, Illustrator, and Naturalist, by Linda Miller Feltner, is an illustrated history of the author and artist’s career and creative work focused on all living things, large and small.
As readers make their way through Feltner’s work, they will gain knowledge of the plants and animals that inhabit the spaces from which she draws inspiration. Readers also get glimpses into the art classes that Feltner instructs as she describes the techniques she uses to create watercolors and sketches while observing her subjects in various angles, movements, expressions, and proportions. Feltner pays close attention to incorporating intricate details such as curves of branches and textures of leaves to balance out her scenes.
Readers may have come across porcelain enamel plaques at parks and preserves across that country that feature illustrations and facts about the park’s habitats. This is just one area where you may find some of Feltner’s work. Her illustrations can be found at Mt. Rainier National Park, Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, and Saguaro National Park, among others.
The lengthy and gorgeous chapter two of Drawing Nature is dedicated to birds with lovely renditions of corvids, quails, owls, and more. Among the many facts that accompany Feltner’s illustrations is an exciting one about a contribution to science by her husband, T. Ben Feltner, who spotted an Eskimo Curlew, Numenius borealis, at Galveston Island, Texas, in 1959. The species was on the verge of extinction at the time, and it is now considered most likely extinct. For more on the 1959 curlew, see recent coverage in Birding (Dec. 2024 issue, pp. 18–22).
Studying birds up close provides Feltner with the ability to appreciate the subtleties of the animals. This kind of observation is done in animal rehab settings. She goes on to point out that many of the injured animals are the same ones that improve and become ambassadors of the natural world.
Like a warbler she is tasked with drawing, readers migrate alongside Feltner to different locations in the book. From the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument to High Island Smith Oaks Canopy Walk in Bolivar Peninsula, Texas, each location has a story. Feltner’s memories and creations for clients serve as an education for readers. While some locations were new to Feltner, many are familiar such as her long and storied partnership with the city of Bellevue, Washington, where she illustrated many pieces over the years.
Returning to familiar locations is an advantage in Feltner’s view, as she enjoys the comfort of a well-known place and the flexibility to observe natural spaces as if she is a new visitor taking down what occurs at the moment. Feltner encourages readers who spend time in nature to take a field notebook or journal, note the date and time, and record what was observed. It’s an effort to help the outdoor explorer retain their memory of the visit. Feltner assures readers that when they visit familiar outdoor spaces to observe wildlife and their surroundings, it is fine if they can’t capture and perfect all they observed in one sitting because they will return to this familiar space again.
The vivid imagery Feltner provides in her text throughout the book helps readers paint mental pictures that complement the array of illustrations that fill the pages. Feltner’s talent is undeniable, yet the book remains approachable and encouraging to those who have a creative spark and interest in nature. The book ends with an invitation to explore the outdoors by bringing your curiosity and your imagination to the field.
Aisha White is a Georgia-based marketing and communication professional and graduate student. Photography reconnected her to a childhood love of the outdoors and sparked her interest in subjects such as birds and plants. She can be found listening to songs on repeat, watching documentaries, and staring at sunsets.
