iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 02/10/2026

“Fledgling Ballet”, coloured pencil on cotton paper, showing a young Cooper’s hawk stretching its wings before trying to hop out of the nest to a nearby branch. They are very entertaining at this stage 🙂 #Birds #SciArt

Coloured pencil drawing of a crow-sized bird with fluffy white legs and a brown-streaked breast. Both wings are raised, so that you can see the underside of the nearest wing. Some of the twigs of the nest have been drawn underneath.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 25/09/2026

It continues to surprise me seeing just how much pink, blue, and purple go into making a brown and white bird! #Birds #SciArt

Coloured pencil drawing of a crow-sized brown and white bird standing upright in a nest with wings raised. In front of the drawing, a hand is holding three coloured pencils: blue, purple, and pink.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 22/09/2026

Anon: “How do you draw birds?” Me: “I wing it.” (Not really) Work in progress showing the wing of a near-fledgling Cooper’s hawk. #Birds #SciArt

Coloured pencil drawing, unfinished, showing a detailed open wing of a crow-sized bird and the rough sketch of the rest of the bird.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 17/09/2026

I finished “Monty” today — the male of the pair of Cooper’s hawks I watched this year. He is smaller than his mate (“Capulet”) and in adult plumage. He was a great dad: he built the nest and fed everyone! Coloured pencil on cotton paper. #BirdArt #Birds #SciArt

A crow-sized bird with slate blue wings and a white and rust-patterned breast, perched on a lichen-covered branch.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 10/09/2026

I don’t ordinarily name wild birds, but I spent so many weeks observing this one, and it helped with note taking to distinguish her from her mate, so … “Capulet”, 12x16 inches, coloured pencil on cotton paper, based on my own photo. #SciArt #Birds

Coloured pencil drawing of a crow-sized bird with dark brown wings and a white chest streaked with brown, perched on a branch. The bird is looking to the right.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 25/08/2026

“Green Energy”. Coloured pencil on cotton paper. A male ruby-throated hummingbird based on photos I took last spring. #SciArt #Birds

Coloured pencil drawing of a small green bird with a long bill, perched on a leafy twig.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 22/08/2026

Art is long, US administrations are short. Three cheers to our PM and all Canadians who said “enough” last night! The latest illegal US tariffs on Canada will effectively stop sales to the U.S. — but don’t let that stop us making art and celebrating what’s good in life ❤️ #SciArt #CanadianArt

Unfinished coloured pencil drawing of a small green bird with a dark red throat and long bill, sitting on a leafy branch.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 13/08/2026

I drew the last stick today! Coloured pencil on cotton paper, 12 x 21 inches, based on photos I took in July, on the last day I saw these young Cooper’s hawks all in the nest together. I watched this nest from April until August. #birds #SciArt

Coloured pencil drawing of four crow-sized, brown and white birds in different poses on a nest of sticks between the grey branches of a tree.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 06/08/2026

I feel as if I’ve reversed the natural order of things: first I make the chicks, then I make the nest (nest still in progress). Art does not always imitate life 😏 #Birds #SciArt

A coloured pencil drawing of four large brown and white birds in a nest that is supported by four grey branches. The nest is not yet finished.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 28/07/2026

Making progress on four young Cooper’s hawks, based on photos I took on the last day I saw them all in the nest (July 11). I haven’t begun the fourth yet; am hoping to give a sense of them spilling out :) I still visit them, but they are getting harder to track! #SciArt #Birds

Unfinished coloured pencil drawing of four brown and white hawks. Two are finished and one is half done; the fourth is a light sketch covered by glassine paper. Some tree branches are filled in but the nest is not yet begun.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 17/07/2026

I’ve begun my largest ever drawing — 12” x 21” — featuring a family of Cooper’s hawks on the day before they began to leave their nest at roughly 4-5 weeks old. #Birds #SciArt

Unfinished coloured pencil drawing of a medium-sized hawk against a background of tree branches. A piece of glassine paper is protecting most of the drawing, which is only roughly sketched in.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 08/07/2026

Black crowned night herons have the coolest dance moves! #Birds #TorontoWildlife

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 17/06/2026

My latest dog portrait — the lovely Penny ❤️ She is still a puppy, entering the gangly phase, with the most wonderful textured fur. Coloured pencil on cotton paper. #DogPortrait

Coloured pencil drawing of an orange and black dog with a white muzzle and chest. She is in a sitting position, looking toward the viewer.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 16/06/2026

I’ve been visiting friends in England, and taking up a new habit: rapid painting in watercolour. It’s a sort of counterpoint to my realistic drawings; it makes me put shapes down on the page without stopping to think. I sometimes add ink lines, but the rule is the same: don’t think (much).

Watercolour sketches of a grey bird with a yellow beak and long yellow legs. Handwriting on the page refers to the difference in plumage between a grey heron and a great blue.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 20/05/2026

My #BirdOfTheDay #WingsWideOpen is a ruby-throated hummingbird :) I took this photo in a Toronto ravine. @robcrank68.bsky.social

Tiny bird perched on an upright branch. The bird has a bright red throat and is holding his wings open.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 05/05/2026

I was happy to get this photo of a pair of Cooper’s hawks in their nest today. It shows how eye colour changes with age. The male on the left has the orange eye that goes with his adult plumage; the female is younger (probably a year old) and has yellow eyes and streaky brown plumage. #Birds

Two medium-sized hawks in a nest, one with yellow eyes and one with orange.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 02/05/2026

“Barely Awake”, coloured pencil on cotton paper, with thanks to a raccoon in my neighbourhood. #WildlifeArt #SciArt

Coloured pencil drawing of a brown, grey, and white mammal draped over the crook of a tree.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 30/04/2026

Things are a bit stressful just now — including a badly timed knee strain — but I get to draw this sweet face 🥰 #WildlifeArt

Unfinished colour pencil drawing of a sleepy raccoon draped over a tree branch. The face has yet to be drawn in.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 28/04/2026

I operate on the principle that one can never draw too many raccoons … #SciArt

Unfinished colour pencil drawing showing an eye and a striped tail near a branch.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 25/04/2026

Realistic drawings take may hours, so I’ve begun a new (to me) practice of quick sketches to record what I see and to play with colour and composition. It’s a pen-and-watercolour journal — this entry took about 5 minutes! — throwing perfection to the wind 🙂 #naturejournalling

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 23/04/2026

“Old Growth” is done. The title refers to the big old trees in my local ravine — many of them “dead” — which provide homes and food for many species, including this Hairy woodpecker. #Birds #SciArt

Black and white bird perched on an upright branch of a fallen log. The bark is broken and spotted with lichen.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 20/04/2026

Forget “to be or not to be.” The real question is, “to draw or to play ball.”

Drawing board on a desk with an unfinished pencil drawing of a bird on a branch. Under the desk, a border collie is staring toward the camera.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 14/04/2026

Currently on my drawing board — a female hairy woodpecker. I’ve nothing against male birds, by the way; I just happen to have seen some especially nice female ones lately 😄 #Birds #SciArt #TorontoWildlife

Unfinished colour pencil drawing of a black and white bird.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 12/04/2026

It may have been the flu that altered my style this week — I went a bit crazy with oil pastels after drawing the bird in pencil— but in any case, “In Cedar” is done, with thanks to the lovely female cardinal I saw last month. #Birds #SciArt

Buff and red bird with an orange beak perched on a branch.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 07/04/2026

I saw a beautiful cardinal last month and began to draw her today. I want to add cedars to the foreground — I so often see them in cedars — but am not sure how it will go as the leaves are so finicky. Nothing ventured nothing gained, I suppose! #Birds #SciArt

Unfinished coloured pencil drawing of the head of a brown and red bird with a bright eye.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 30/03/2026

Finished! “Let It Be”. Coloured pencil on hot pressed paper. Based on photos I took of a barred owl in a Toronto ravine. #SciArt #Birds

Coloured pencil drawing of a large brown and white owl perched in the crook of a mossy tree. The owl is looking toward the viewer.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 27/03/2026

Work in progress. Drawing bird feathers always reminds me of why I don’t aspire to be a scientific illustrator, lol. But slowly, my owl is getting feathers, give or take a few … #Birds #SciArt

Unfinished coloured pencil drawing of a large brown and white owl perched in the crook of a mossy tree.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 26/03/2026

Work in progress. I saw a barred owl earlier this week in a wooded area of a Toronto ravine — a first for me in the city (I used to see them often up north in the late evening). Such a thrill; there is something otherworldly about a large owl. So of course it inspired me to draw :) #Birds #SciArt

Unfinished coloured pencil drawing of a large brown and white owl in the crook of a tree.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 18/03/2026

Like most people right now, I’m feeling anxious — so am more than usually grateful to local wildlife for letting me hang out in their world and breathe more slowly for a while. #WildlifePhotography #Raccoon

Photo of a raccoon grooming a paw while curled up in the hollow of a tree.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 10/03/2026

“A Balanced View”, coloured pencil on cotton paper, with thanks to a local red squirrel. #SciArt #WildlifeArt #TorontoWildlife

Coloured pencil drawing of a small orange and white mammal balancing on hind feet on a branch that leans against a large tree.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 08/03/2026

I was thrilled to see an eastern bluebird in a Toronto ravine this morning — the first in many years. I almost didn’t photograph this one because in the light it looked like a junco. Some instinct prevailed … #Birds

Blue, orange, and white bird perched on a wire.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 05/03/2026

Using a white pencil to bring out some of the fur highlights in this red squirrel. I saw him/her again today, high in the tree canopy, avoiding my camera … #SciArt #WildlifeArt

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 26/02/2026

I’m not sure if this is a pair or a parent and last year’s pup. I was a long way off — 500mm lens with 1.4 extender lens, and very cropped — but I’m pretty sure at least one of them knew I was there, judging by the eye … #coyotes #torontowildlife

Photo of two coyotes behind tall reeds. One is curled up, asleep on the snow. The other is standing behind the sleeper, looking towards the camera. The reeds conceal most of the detail.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 26/02/2026

I love watching, and drawing, red squirrels. They are so lively! You can find them in Toronto but less often in streets or backyards, where the larger grey/black squirrels prevail; red squirrels inhabit the ravine :) #SciArt #WildlifeArt

Unfinished coloured pencil drawing of a squirrel balancing on a branch with a large tree trunk in the background.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 18/02/2026

I saw a leucistic robin in Toronto today. It’s a genetic condition where pigment is missing from some of the feathers. #Birds

An orange and brown bird with white patches, perched on a cluster of sumac berries and holding a berry in its beak.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 14/02/2026

Reposting an old one because of the day. “Great Blue Valentine”. Coloured pencil on cotton paper. #Valentines #Birds

Coloured pencil drawing of a large blue, grey, and white bird standing on a log in water while preening. The wings make a heart shape.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 04/02/2026

“Light of Day”, coloured pencil and oil pastel on cotton paper. I used a photo from last year as a reference, but yesterday I saw a different raccoon in the same tree — looking out at a very wintry landscape. #SciArt #WildlifeArt

Drawing of a raccoon looking out from a hole in a tree at a sky of mottled greens, yellows, and blues.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 04/02/2026

I’ve never seen a yellow-bellied sapsucker so early in the year in Toronto! #birds

Photo of a black and yellow bird with a red cap perched on a small branch.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 29/01/2026

Work (still) in progress. For some reason, it gives me hope to draw an animal coming out of a dark place into the light … #SciArt

Work in progress coloured pencil drawing of the face of a raccoon emerging from a hole in a tree.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 27/01/2026

The only raccoons I’ve seen this week have been curled up tight in old trees — the snow in the ravine goes up to my thighs! — so I’m using a photo I took earlier this year as a reference for this drawing. Coloured pencil on cotton paper. #SciArt

Unfinished coloured pencil drawing of the face of a raccoon emerging from a hole in a large tree.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 26/01/2026

When you are the first one on the trail the morning after #torontosnowstorm

A photograph looking down at the front of the photographer, with a camera, who is standing in thigh-deep snow.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 23/01/2026

“Living on the Edge”. I see rabbits on the edge of habitats, and as the light is changing at either end of the day. Am donating this to an Alzheimer’s charity in memory of Ron Lawrence, who taught me a lot about nature in my youth. @paeartforacause.bsky.social Coloured pencil on cotton paper.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 16/01/2026

This year I’m donating a small drawing to @paeartforacause to support an art program to help people living with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. The challenge for me is that it has to be 5x7 inches, which is smaller than I’m used to! Attempt #2 underway … #postcardartexhibit26

Unfinished coloured pencil drawing of a brown rabbit on a white background.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 15/01/2026

We woke up to a cold, snowy day. The schools and universities are closed, and there is the perpetual sound of snow shovels. I’ve been clearing a path for our dog …

A woman in a hat and coat faces the camera with a snow-covered dog looking off to the side.

A black and white dog stands in the snow under a cedar tree.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 12/01/2026

It seemed a fitting start to January to draw a blue jay with feathers puffed out against the cold. I tend to think of jays as active and loud, but this one was quiet, conserving energy, perhaps, on a very cold morning in Toronto. Coloured pencil on cotton paper. #birds #SciArt

Coloured pencil drawing of a blue and white bird perched on a dead tree.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 05/01/2026

I decided to make my first drawing of 2026 a blue jay — specifically, one who cheered me by puffing out feathers to keep warm. I love it when birds do that. It’s like giving a duvet a good shake. For now, though, I’m working on the tree; the feathers can wait :)

Unfinished coloured pencil drawing of a bird in a grey tree covered in yellow moss.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 15/12/2025

I finished this drawing today: a hermit thrush. It’s one of my favourite local birds: they are a bit shy and sound like flutes in the trees. #Birds #SciArt

Coloured pencil drawing of a small brown and white bird with dark spots on the chest, perched on the branch of a conifer.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 14/12/2025

I was hoping to see an owl this morning but instead I found this little swamp sparrow — not uncommon in Toronto in general, but more so mid-winter. I met, accidentally, some people who were doing a bird count, so was able to show them where to find it — my tiny contribution to science 😏

Small brown and grey bird with a rusty brown cap, perched on a stalk of dead grass with snow in the background.

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Megan O’Connor 🍁 @meganoconnorart.ca · 10/12/2025

I prefer to draw in natural light but today the heavy grey sky is making it tough! Hermit thrushes may look “brown and spotty” from a distance, but there are many subtle shades, and I don’t want to miss that. #Birds #SciArt

Unfinished coloured pencil drawing of a small brown bird with a rusty tail perched on the branch of a conifer that has lost much of its bark.

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