Riverside Metropolitan Museum

North American Beaver (Castor canadensis) watercolor pencils on paper

A trip to the museum is always a fun time for a sketcher. A bone-lover like me can find lots of good sketching fodder as almost every display has a bone or two. Skeletons have such grand and sweeping lines and some have a wonderful patina that it's just a joy to let loose and draw them.

Thanks to James Gurney, I've begun sketching with watercolor pencils... and after a small learning curve, I love them. They're no mess, easy to pack around and are museum-friendly. I sketch lightly with the umber then use a brush pen filled with water to blend it all (a cheap little brush with a water reservoir..you just squeeze it for a wet brush and you're off to the races). A bit of ochre and blue and you've got all you need for some great studies. Finishing contrast was done with a smidgen of black (but beware..a little goes a long way and you're probably better off just leaving it as pencil and not hitting it with water).

I'm doing this beaver skull and I notice someone beside me watching. It's one of the museum curators and we start talking about art and how all good fantasy art has it's roots in the natural sciences. We're having a good time geeking out on the museum displays and she mentions a John Muir event the museum will be holding and asks if I'd like to be a part of it. No brainer...I said yes. I'm not sure in what capacity she'd like me to participate, but for a John Muir event, I'll sweep the floor and be happy.

The curator's name is Teresa Woodard and she's the curator of education at the Riverside Metropolitan Museum. It's a small museum with an incredible diversity of quality displays from old spirit jars, to a good natural history section to a great Civil War, WW1 and WW2 section. They also have a wonderful exhibit of native indian artifacts and lifestyle information. Teresa also introduced me to the museum's curator of natural history, James Bryant. Both of them were wonderful, friendly and seemed excited about their museum. I enjoyed my time there immensely. One great perk came from James, who offered me access to his natural history collection that he has in the back. Lots of great skeletons, wings and other odd assortment of specimens that are a treasure-trove for artists. This goes to show you: be friendly with your local museum!

Here are some other sketches I did while there. All of these sketches are just that; sketches. Color and shape studies and just plain drawing for the fun of it.

Desert Iguana (Dipsosaurus dorsalis) watercolor pencils on paper

Kit Fox (Vulpes macrotis) watercolor pencils on paper

I have to wonder at the taxidermy on the kit fox. The eyes were a bright orange and I'm not so sure that's realistic, but it was an interesting look nonetheless.

Bullock's Oriole ? (Icterus Bullockii) watercolor pencils on paper

I don't remember if this was, in fact, a Bullock's Oriole. After a quick consult with Dr. Google, I think this is correct. If not, don't shoot me; I just wanted to sketch it for the color!