The Sibley Guide to Birds was published in 2000 – twenty-six years ago! I did a lot of touching-up of the original art for the second edition in 2014, but since 2020 most of my new work for the Sibley Birds app and other projects has been digital. I have decided to make some of the field guide art available for sale, and thirty pieces are now posted in the store here.
I also added a little background note about each piece to give some insight into the whole multi-year field guide project. Hopefully just browsing the catalog and reading those will be interesting, even if you’re not buying anything. Here is a sample of one of the notes:
As I was doing all of the paintings for the guide, about halfway through and in year three, I reached a low point of enthusiasm for the work. It’s probably not a coincidence that I was tackling the flycatchers then. These are some of the most difficult birds to identify, without any bold markings, requiring a lot of restraint and control as I laid down thin washes of yellow, brown, and gray paint to show subtle differences in color. I’m happy with the results, but those days required more than the usual perseverance.
This link will take you to the category “SGTB” in the store (which stands for Sibley Guide to Birds) to view those thirty pintings.
Many of the other paintings are also available, so if you are interested in a species that isn’t shown feel free to ask about it.