United States
£ GBP
Birds accompany us in our daily lives with their songs, flashes of bright color, and energetic activity. Even people who don't consider themselves birders notice them; from urban wetlands to wilderness trails, we follow the sound of a distant twitter or song.
Award-winning artist Molly Hashimoto captures birds through different media, from quick sketches with pen and wash to more carefully planned block prints. Each medium has a unique way of revealing different avian qualities – elegant lines or imposing silhouettes, a delicate bill or brilliant plumage. In Birds of the West: An Artist's Guide, Molly shares this range of artwork as a way to encourage readers, whether artists or not, to observe more closely the feathered friends around us. Through her art and words, she explores specific Western American habitats providing the natural histories of birds typically found in each, as well as intimate personal encounters and inspiring passages from others. And she teaches painting, drawing, and printmaking methods throughout the book with technique sidebars designed for all levels of experience.
Seattle artist and writer Molly Hashimoto has been sketching and painting in the outdoors for more than 20 years, and has filled over 40 sketchbooks with landscapes, vignettes, studies of flora and fauna and natural history notes, much of the work created while visiting some of the West's most iconic parks and monuments. Her paintings, prints and illustrations have been published as notecards, calendars and books for many years by Pomegranate Communications. Colors of the West: An Artist's Guide was published in 2017. Her latest book, Birds of the West: An Artist's Guide was released on May 1, 2019. In it she shares dozens of prints, sketches and watercolors of the west's iconic species with information on where to find them, and explains her choice of media, offering many tips and techniques. She is a printmaker and watercolor artist, and teaches regularly for Sitka Center for Art & Ecology, the Yellowstone Forever Institute, and the North Cascades Institute.
Exceptionally well written and offering a complete course of art instruction on the subject of birds, Birds of the West: An Artist's Guide" is beautifully illustrated throughout."
– Mary Cowper, Midwest Book Review
"Birds of the West is an elegant aviary captured in ink on pulp, a glorious riot of feathers and beaks presented in familiar natural habitats, in poses that reveal the distinct personalities and habits of their subjects."
– Christian Martin, Cascadia Weekly
"Really fun to read."
– Pat Pauley, ARTbeat Northwest
"[Birds of the West] is a handy book to have in your parks library not only to use as a guide for improving your own sketches, but to deepen your knowledge on the natural history and wildlife of the West's national parks."
– Kurt Repanshek, National Parks Traveler
"Molly's personal encounters, paired with her delightful artwork of feathered creatures, promise many enjoyable hours seeing the world through her eyes and fingertips."
– Diane Spicer, Hiking For Her
"[Birds of the West] is guaranteed to delight and inspire."
– Helen Raptis, AM Northwest
