Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦
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mikehendley.com
Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦
@mikehendley.com
3.9K followers 520 following 650 posts
Artist, naturalist, podcaster, art teacher. Graphite, watercolor, oil, acrylic, and digital. By day, I work in IT & health research.
https://MikeHendley.com/links
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mikehendley.com
Sketched this goldfinch over two quiet mornings. They’re great subjects for beginner or seasoned artists. Subtle textures, soft value shifts, no pressure to get loud. Pentel GraphGear .3 & .5 pencils (2B/4B) and a tortillon to blend. #bird #sciart
Graphite drawing of a winter American goldfinch perched on a bare branch, sketched in a notebook using fine mechanical pencils.
January 31, 2026 at 11:26 PM
mikehendley.com
Painted this northern hawk owl after it made a surprise visit to our city. Got lost in its eyes and those stripes. Watercolor in an A6 Etchr sketchbook, Golden paints, Art Toolkit palette. Referenced a photo by Harry Foster. Quiet but somehow loud inside. #bird #sciart
A realistic watercolor painting of a northern hawk owl perched on a branch, with its reflection below. Painted on A6 Etchr hot press paper.
January 29, 2026 at 1:07 PM
mikehendley.com
Finished this sketch in a coffee shop this morning. I tried to capture every wrinkle like a memory. Two pencils, two blenders, and way too much time spent on flung mud and the elephant’s shadow. Elephants don’t just survive, they wear life. #sciart #elephant #art
Realistic pencil drawing of an elephant flinging mud from its trunk, with detailed shading and textures on its skin and environment.
January 11, 2026 at 3:25 PM
mikehendley.com
Sketched this bat-eared fox in about 40 mins to warm up before getting back to the elephant piece. Used Pentel 0.3 2B + 0.5 4B, blender and blutack in a tiny sketchbook. Honestly just needed something small and focused to land in for a second. #sciart
Realistic pencil sketch of a bat-eared fox, drawn in a small sketchbook using graphite. The fox's large ears are detailed with soft shading and fur texture.
January 10, 2026 at 3:58 PM
mikehendley.com
Sketched this barn owl in 30 mins in a hospital waiting room. Just a tiny sketchbook, a 0.3 mm 2B pencil, no blending, no erasing. Not perfect but that wasn’t the point. Sometimes showing up is enough. #sciart #bird #pencil
A detailed sketch of a barn owl perched on a stump is drawn in a notebook, held open by a hand with a pen resting on the page.
January 8, 2026 at 1:21 AM
mikehendley.com
Tried painting a sloth without it turning into green mush. Layered strange shadow colors and fought for fur texture at this size. Honestly kinda proud of how soft it turned out. #sciart #watercolor
Watercolor painting of a sloth clinging to a birch tree, with detailed green-tinted fur and mossy bark textures.
January 3, 2026 at 2:46 PM
mikehendley.com
Drawing Connections # 34. I’m prepping my first in-person Drawing 1 course (mid-Jan) and sharing my 2026 theme, Resonance, and so much more in this one. open.substack.com/pub/mikeh…
Drawing newsletter screenshot on an iPhone: Substack post titled “34: Drawing Connections” by Mike Hendley (Jan 1, 2026), subtitle “2026 Theme, Podcast Season 2, Courses, US Shipping,” with a cover photo of an open sketchbook showing a graphite owl drawing.
January 1, 2026 at 5:25 PM
mikehendley.com
Drawing + paint snapshot of 2025: progress and rough edges. About 90 studies in graphite, watercolour, and coloured pencil. Middle photo is me speaking at a local group. Thanks for the support and questions. Newsletter Jan 2: my 2026 theme, why themes help you stay focused. Link in bio
Top row: graphite opossum in a sketchbook, watercolor chickadee beside a blue ornament, graphite blue jay. Middle row: watercolor caiman head study, photo of the artist presenting beside a projected slide, watercolor green beetle. Bottom row: watercolor turtle with a leaf, graphite kingfisher on a branch, watercolor tortoise.
December 31, 2025 at 8:45 PM
mikehendley.com
I got way too into this opossum sketch but I couldn’t help it. Saw them in NY and couldn’t look away. Done in graphite with BluTack + blender for depth. Vines were negative space work. Feels like I drew a ghost hiding in the roots. #sciart #graphite #art
Realistic graphite sketch of an opossum in a sketchbook, featuring detailed fur texture and vines drawn in negative space, with two mechanical pencils below.
December 28, 2025 at 3:56 PM
mikehendley.com
I’m back from a short holiday break. Hope everyone took some time. Happy to be back working on this piece. So many textures including some fun negative drawing. More to come! #wip #sciart #graphite #art
A detailed sketch of an opossum is being drawn in a sketchbook, surrounded by various pens on a wooden table.
December 27, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Reposted by Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦
flyingtrilobite.com
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December 24, 2025 at 10:43 PM
mikehendley.com
Came for the owl, stayed for the stump and snow. Drawn with Pentel .2 .3 .5, HB 2B 4B. So many layers. So much blender work. Half of this was adding graphite, the other half was taking it back. Learning what to leave alone and celebrating all the textures in nature. #bird #sciart #graphite
Graphite drawing of a great horned owl perched on a twisted tree stump in snow, rendered in fine pencil detail with layered shading and blended textures, shown in an open sketchbook held by hand.
December 18, 2025 at 6:11 PM
mikehendley.com
Great horned owl sketch, morning warmup in the sketchbook. Blocking in the stare, feather bands, and that heavy brow with Pentel GraphGear and a stump. More to come. #birds #art #pencil
Open sketchbook on a wooden table with a partially finished graphite drawing of a great horned owl; two mechanical pencils and blending stumps lie beside the page.
December 14, 2025 at 3:53 PM
mikehendley.com
This griffon vulture wasn’t planned but insisted on being drawn. Used .3 & .5 Pentel mechanical pencils plus graphite powder. Vultures are survivors. Quiet, patient, powerful. Like floating grief with wings. #sciart #birds
Realistic pencil drawing of a griffon vulture in a sketchbook, surrounded by mechanical pencils and soft shading around the bird's neck and head.
December 11, 2025 at 12:36 PM
mikehendley.com
A curious wolf pup, a red ornament, and too much feeling about reflections. Painted with QoR watercolors on a blank Etchr cold press card with my Art Toolkit palette, QoR watercolors and Pentel Aquash brushes. Wolf pups can howl at 3 weeks old. Not sure who gets this card
A watercolor painting of a curious wolf pup inspecting a shiny red ornament that reflects its own face. The scene is set against soft snow with a pine sprig nearby. The painting is shown on a handmade greeting card.&10;
December 6, 2025 at 2:45 PM
mikehendley.com
Sketched these Polyommatus butterflies at a Barnes & Noble in Ithaca from a reference. Graphgear 1000 (.3 & .5, 2B + 4B), Blu Tack, and a few mins of stillness. Some of their caterpillars team up with ants, who guard them in exchange for sugar. #sciart #pencil #art
Pencil sketch of two polyommatus butterflies perched on wheat-like grasses, drawn with fine detail and soft shading in a sketchbook.
November 30, 2025 at 9:31 PM
mikehendley.com
A chickadee giving serious side-eye to a holiday ornament. Painted with Golden QoR watercolors and a Pentel water brush on cold press Etchr card stock. Two hours and two coffees later and we’re done. I kept this one loose and made it fun. Happy Watercolor Day! #watercolorday #birds
Watercolor painting of a chickadee standing in snow next to a blue ornament, with soft shading and fine details, held above a watercolor palette.
November 23, 2025 at 3:12 PM
mikehendley.com
Playing with the idea of Magic: The Gathering type collectible cards with my art and a focus on animals in certain regions. Thoughts?
Two illustrated trading cards featuring a Blue Jay and a Common Loon are placed on a wooden surface.
November 20, 2025 at 4:56 PM
mikehendley.com
Blue jays are always around here but I don’t always observe them. This one found a corn niblet and posed for my reference photo. Sketched it fast with 0.5mm 4B + 0.3mm 2B Pentel Graphgear, plus a blender to bring the forest floor into focus at the end. Jays mimic hawks. Wild. #birds #sciart #drawing
Realistic graphite drawing of a blue jay on sketchbook paper, perched on forest ground, with fine shading and detail, drawn using mechanical pencils and blending tools.
November 19, 2025 at 1:27 PM
mikehendley.com
Water practice, iridescence panic, a rogue corner hit by blue… and somehow this loon still came together. Painted with Pentel water brushes in an A6 Etchr sketchbook using QoR paints and interference pigments for that shine. Solid bones, just like the bird. #birds #sciart #watercolor
Watercolor sketch of a common loon in water, featuring iridescent green and purple hues on the head, with a water droplet falling from its beak. The sketch is propped above a colorful palette and water brushes.
November 16, 2025 at 3:13 PM
mikehendley.com
Caught this great blue heron at Mud Lake in Ottawa striking a rare wing-drying pose. I sketched it with Pentel Graphgear 1000s in 2B and 4B, layering blends and erasing to pull form from shadow. Herons always feel like ghosts dressed in feathers and silence. #birds #sciart #artist
Graphite drawing of a great blue heron perched on a branch with wings dramatically outstretched and drooping downward in a drying pose.
November 9, 2025 at 2:07 PM
mikehendley.com
Not my usual subject but that’s what pulled me in. Layer after layer, pencil after pencil, I let the water shape itself. GraphGear 1000 (.3 2B and .5 4B), a lot of blending, a lot of learning. It scared me. That’s how I knew it mattered.
Graphite drawing of a woman's face partially submerged in water, only her eyes, forehead, and textured curly hair visible above the surface.
November 2, 2025 at 2:16 PM
mikehendley.com
Not my typical subject but felt compelled to start this one over coffee today. Maybe a feeling of keeping one’s head above the water. Busy days. Happy to be heading back to Ithaca for a few days. I plan to fit in some drawing and painting.
A graphite drawing in progress in a sketchbook shows a pair of realistic human eyes and the bridge of a nose emerging from the page. A mechanical pencil with a metal grip, a kneaded eraser, and a blending stump rest nearby on a wooden table, suggesting an artist’s workspace in use.
October 29, 2025 at 12:27 PM
mikehendley.com
A chipmunk showed up with a nut, cleaned its tail, and something about it made me paint without thinking too hard. Used QoR watercolors and Pentel water brushes in my A6 Etchr sketchbook. Felt like catching stillness mid-chaos. Like holding your own tail. #sciart
A watercolor painting of a chipmunk sitting upright on a rock, holding its tail in both paws with a soft green background. A few crumbs are scattered on the ground in front.
October 27, 2025 at 12:15 PM
mikehendley.com
Spotted this tufted titmouse in Sapsucker Woods a few weeks ago. I didn’t notice the band until I started this piece. Light washes in my A6 Etchr sketchbook with Pentel brushes. I always start with the eye and stop when it winks. Like trying to hold a moment still without hurting it. #sciart #birds
Watercolor painting of a tufted titmouse perched on a branch, painted in a sketchbook with visible palette and water brushes beside it.
October 25, 2025 at 2:03 PM