Morgan
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rippleinthewild.bsky.social
Morgan
@rippleinthewild.bsky.social
180 followers 160 following 220 posts
Artist / naturalist / nature journal educator in Monterey County, California. Exploring interdisciplinary art. They/He

Art shop, portfolio, etc: rippleinthewild.com
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rippleinthewild.bsky.social
A little late for pride month but gonna have these guys up soon #BirdArt #NatureIsQueer
Thumb and fingers holding a sticker with an acorn woodpecker in flight on a rainbow background that says "proud birder"
July 8, 2025 at 6:24 PM
rippleinthewild.bsky.social
Hi #PortfolioDay I'm Morgan, a freelance nature illustrator/printmaker.

Let's work together!
rippleinthewild.com
[email protected]
A page of spot illustrations of California condors A circular sticker design showing the Elkhorn Slough with a child kneeling to look at the slough, a great egret, a santa cruz long-toed salamander, and a southern sea otter over pickleweed. Text around the circle reads "it takes a community to protect a place" A gouache painting of a juvenile brown pelican in flight 5x7 lino print of a black-crowned night heron surrounded by a night sky of stars and a full moon peeking out from behind it on the left.
July 8, 2025 at 6:01 PM
rippleinthewild.bsky.social
Buncha night herons
#Birds #BirdArt #Printmaking
Nine 5x7 night heron and full moon block prints drying on a table in rows of three
July 8, 2025 at 1:37 AM
rippleinthewild.bsky.social
I got this finished mug back yesterday #BirdArt

Some issues with the glaze (my fault) but overall super proud of it.
hand holding a pottery mug with a black necked stilt on it hand holding a pottery mug with a black necked stilt on it
June 12, 2025 at 5:40 PM
rippleinthewild.bsky.social
The name's Ironclad. Diabolical Ironclad.
A diabolical ironclad beetle on some rocky ground with dry grass
June 1, 2025 at 3:28 AM
rippleinthewild.bsky.social
Almost forgot to post the final birds, so you're getting three at once. #MedievalMay days 29, 30 and 31 are titmouse, vulture, and woodpecker.

Thanks for following along with this challenge! It was fun and the first art challenge I've completed in full.

#Birds #BirdArt #MedievalBestiary #Medieval
Hand holding a small sketchbook showing a drawing of an oak titmouse on a branch with a calligraphy letter T to the upper right. A hand holding a small sketchbook showing a drawing of a turkey vulture looking to the viewer's right and holding a severed human foot in its beak. A hand holding a small sketchbook showing a drawing of an acorn woodpecker with an acorn in its beak, on the side of a tree that is way too small in comparison to the bird and looks like broccoli.
June 1, 2025 at 3:19 AM
rippleinthewild.bsky.social
#MedievalMay Days 27 & 28 - Swallow and thrush. The barn swallow and hermit thrush. Only three more birds to go!

#Birds #BirdArt #MedievalArt #MedievalBestiary
A hand holding up a small sketchbook showing side by side ink and watercolor drawings of a barn swallow in flight in a gilded frame and a hermit thrush sitting on a trifecta of oak leaves and acorns.
May 28, 2025 at 7:40 PM
rippleinthewild.bsky.social
Starling - "A bird with stars on its feathers" (bestiary.ca) The European starling was introduced to North America in the 1890s by some people who were way too into Shakespeare.

#MedievalMay Day 26 #Birds #BirdArt #MedievalBestiary
A hand holding up a small sketchbook to show an ink and watercolor drawing of a small blackish purple-ish bird with white dash markings across its feathers like stars. Its bill is bright yellow and its surrounded by a square filled in with metallic bronze watercolor. A stylized script letter S is above it to the left.
May 26, 2025 at 10:00 PM
rippleinthewild.bsky.social
"As the raven first pecks out the eyes, so the devil first destroys the ability to judge correctly, leaving the mind open to attack" (bestiary.ca). Referring to ravens plucking the eyes of corpses out to eat the brains.

#MedievalMay Day 25 #MedievalBestiary #Birds #BirdArt
A hand holding a small sketchbook showing a drawing of a raven in ink, with gothic type that says "raven" to the upper right of the bird.
May 26, 2025 at 9:44 PM
rippleinthewild.bsky.social
Q is for Quail for #MedievalMay day 24 (catching up again, I took the weekend off). This is a little lady California quail.

I might turn these into an alphabet zine when the month is over.

#Birds #BirdArt #MedievalBestiary
A hand holding a small sketchbook so you can see the right hand page which has an ink line drawing of a female California quail, a small brown bird with white horizontal markings on its breast and sides and a protruding feather on its brow that sticks straight out. The bird is colored with brown watercolor. There's a capital letter Q to its upper right.
May 26, 2025 at 9:38 PM
rippleinthewild.bsky.social
Plover - "A bird that lives on nothing but air" (bestiary.ca)

#MedievalMay #Birds #BirdArt #MedievalArt #SnowyPlover
Close up of a hand holding a small sketchbook with a drawing of a small black, grey and white bird, the snowy plover. The bird is striding towards the right, walking over a squiggly line and some little pebbles that look like a sandy beach. All within a rectangle with a blue sky. There is a single disconnected line on the top and two sides of the rectangle. At the bottom in gothic typography is the word "plover"
May 23, 2025 at 10:49 PM
rippleinthewild.bsky.social
Just dropped these two new sticker friends for you to take home! In the shop now. -> rippleinthewild.etsy.com

#Birds #BirdArt #Stickers
Close up American avocet bird sticker on a desk next to a plant Close up black-crowned night heron bird sticker on a desk next to a plant.
May 23, 2025 at 2:07 AM
rippleinthewild.bsky.social
Today's bird is the pheasant. Phasianus colchicus, the ring-necked pheasant. A bird introduced to the U.S. from Asia in the 1880s.

Side note, I love the way trees are drawn in medieval manuscripts.

#MedievalMay #BirdArt #Birds #Pheasant #MedievalBestiary
A hand holding up a small sketchbook horizontally so you can see a drawing of a ring-necked pheasant, a brightly colored brown and red bird with a blue head and red eye ring. Behind it are drawn some stylized grass and trees that look like wavy broccoli.
May 22, 2025 at 6:37 PM
rippleinthewild.bsky.social
Pelican - "A bird that revives its dead young with its own blood" (bestiary.ca). Hardcore!

Not convinced that a pelican in the middle ages was what we call a pelican today, as none of the birds under pelican remotely resemble pelicans.

Day 21 #MedievalMay #BirdArt #MedievalArt #Birds #BrownPelican
A hand holding up a small sketchbook horizontally so you can see one page with an ink line drawing of a brown pelican, a large sea bird with a big bill, in flight, looking pretty funny with an extra long neck and wide eye. It's drawn partially inside a rectangle with the tips of its wings and feet breaking the border. The rectangle has a pattern of diamonds in it with dots in the center of each and is colored in turquoise.
May 22, 2025 at 6:24 PM
rippleinthewild.bsky.social
Blue sky background?
Two block prints of black necked stilts in flight, a black and white bird with red eye and long slender pink legs. The prints are on a desk cutting mat with a travel palette of watercolors and a paint brush.
May 21, 2025 at 2:33 AM
rippleinthewild.bsky.social
"The owl haunts ruins and flies only at night; preferring to live in darkness it hides from the light" (bestiary.ca)

Oof, there's a lot going on with owl symbolism in medieval Christianity and it's not pretty.

#MedievalMay #BirdArt #GreatHornedOwl #Birds #MedievalArt #Bestiary
A hand holding a small sketchbook to show the left hand page with a stylized black ink drawing of a great horned owl, a bird with a round head and tufty ears and big yellow eyes. The bird is colored in watercolor and is inside a double walled rectangle, its feet extend below the bottom of the rectangle.
May 20, 2025 at 11:10 PM
rippleinthewild.bsky.social
Test print of a new block ft. the bandaid from carving out a chunk of my finger.

Needs a few touch ups but I like it.

#Birds #BlackNeckedStilt #LinoPrint
A left hand holding up a 6 by 8 inch horizontal piece of white paper with a print of two black and white birds with red eyes and long, slender pink legs in flight over some grass. The background is a white wall and the hand has a bandaid on the index finger because the artist is a dingus.
May 20, 2025 at 10:37 PM
rippleinthewild.bsky.social
Computer generated head that looks like it's vibrating in panic with disembodied hands holding it. And the word Panik
May 20, 2025 at 5:20 PM
rippleinthewild.bsky.social
"Some authorities say the osprey has one clawed foot for seizing prey, and one webbed foot for swimming" (bestiary.ca)

I recreated this masterpiece for you, but forgot to give it one webbed foot.

#MedievalMay #MedievalArt #Birds #BirdArt #Osprey #MedievalManuscripts
A hand holding up a small sketchbook so you can see the right hand page. The left page of the sketchbook is cut off by the edge of the photo. On the page there is a drawing of an osprey diving down towards some wavy lines (water) and fish, its wings are tucked in and pointing back so they almost form a triangle behind the bird. Gothic script at the top says "osprey" A drawing from a medieval manuscript showing an osprey diving straight down towards some wavy lines and fish meant to represent water. The osprey has one clawed foot and one webbed foot and its eye is very wide and round with a small pupil. It looks like it is just hurtling towards the water face first. Image is in the public domain, courtesy of the British LIbrary
May 19, 2025 at 8:53 PM
rippleinthewild.bsky.social
Gonna transfer some good birds to some lino blocks. Pray for my hands
Looking down onto a desk with a scattered tracing paper squares with pencil tracings of bird drawings
May 19, 2025 at 8:10 PM
rippleinthewild.bsky.social
Nightjar - "A bird that sucks milk from the udders of goats" (bestiary.ca)

Also called goatsuckers, part of a very old misunderstanding (?) that they would drink goats milk directly from the goat. They actually eat insects.

#MedievalMay #BirdArt #Birds #CommonPoorwill #MedievalArt
A hand holding a small sketchbook turned horizontally to show an ink and watercolor drawing of a small round bird with a big eye, surrounded by a blue background with gold dots and a black line border.
May 19, 2025 at 12:47 AM
rippleinthewild.bsky.social
Catching up again. Day 17 of #MedievalMay was Merlin.

I find the hardest ones to draw are where the depictions in medieval manuscripts deviate so much from what the actual bird looks like. It's hard to find a middle ground.

#BirdArt #Birds #MedievalArt #MedievalEurope #Merlin
A hand holding open a small sketchbook to show two side by side drawings in black ink of a type of falcon called a merlin. The left drawing is a merlin perched on a small ball, the right drawing is a merlin coming down to land with its wings out and feet outstretched in front of it.
May 19, 2025 at 12:34 AM
rippleinthewild.bsky.social
I do draw things that are not medieval birds, sometimes.

From my local monthly field sketching meet up group today. If you're in the Monterey area you should join! Send me a DM or check out my website for the info.
Hand holding a small sketchbook with thick black ink line drawings of various plants found on the dunes at Asilomar in Pacific Grove, California Hand holding a small sketchbook showing a thick black ink line drawing of a landscape of low sand dunes covered in ants and the roof and chimney of a building in the background Hand holding a sketchbook showing two drawings, one of a building with a chimney surrounded by trees with text below that says ASILOMAR MAY 18 2025. The second drawing is sideways for the viewer and is of a sand dune landscape with pelicans flying in the sky
May 19, 2025 at 12:27 AM
rippleinthewild.bsky.social
Magpie - "Magpies are like poets in that they have a voice which can express words with distinct sounds" (bestiary.ca)

The yellow-billed magpie is a stunning bird, endemic to California. I'm lucky to have seen them.

Yesterday day 16 of #MedievalMay

#MedievalArt #BirdArt #Birds #YellowbilledMagpie
A hand holding a small sketchbook open to an ink drawing of a yellow billed magpie which spans both pages. The bird is facing to the right and lifting one foot, with its head and beak lifted to the air. It is surrounded by a rectangular border. The bird is colored in watercolor and is mostly black and white with a yellow bill and swipe of yellow below the eye. The rectangle has a blue watercolor background with a pattern of clusters of three dots.
May 17, 2025 at 10:55 PM
rippleinthewild.bsky.social
Kite - "The kite represents those who delight in carnal pleasures, especially those of the stomach" (bestiary.ca).

The genus in the bestiary is Milvus, the red kite, which makes sense as it's a western European bird. White-tailed kites are genus Elanus.

#MedievalMay #MedievalArt #Birds #BirdArt
Hand holding a small sketchbook horizontally so it forms one long page, with an ink brush pen drawing of a white tailed kite in flight with its wings pointing upwards and its feet and talons splayed out. The bird is colored lightly with watercolor and is bordered by a rectangle which is colored in red with watercolor. The word "kite" is written vertically in gothic lettering to the left.
May 15, 2025 at 9:48 PM