iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 1h

Broke in a handmade 3” by 3” sketchbook from a local creative with two hungry young swallows. 20 minutes, Pentel water brushes and QoR watercolours on Saint Armand cold press, which I never use. Wicked rough paper. Might be into it. #sciart #bird

Watercolor painting of two young swallows with beaks wide open, on textured cold press paper. Deep blue-black heads and wings, tan chests, bright yellow-orange mouths. Soft washes fade into bare white paper at the edges.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 19/09/2026

Finally got back to this African fish eagle. Graphite in the sketchbook, Pentel GraphGear 1000s in .3 and .5, a couple of blending stumps, Blu-Tack for the highlights. Retirement is busier than I expected. It felt good to find some time and just draw feathers. #sciart #bird

Graphite drawing in an open sketchbook of an African fish eagle perched on a weathered branch, one wing raised high, head bent down to a spotted fish held in its talons. Below the book sit two Pentel GraphGear 1000 pencils, two blending stumps and a lump of Blu-Tack.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 14/09/2026

Working through some power and strength with this one. Tiger in graphite, .3 and .5 GraphGear pencils. Loved this quiet reference, no drama, just the tiger resting against the bark. #sciart

Graphite pencil sketch of a tiger leaning against a weathered tree trunk, rendered in fine linework with soft shading. The tiger's head is turned toward the viewer, ears alert, with detailed fur texture at the ruff and shoulder. Background suggests soft snow and hazy trees. Signed lower right.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 06/09/2026

Most people head to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for the birds. This chipmunk begged to be seen and heard instead. A visit never disappoints. QoR watercolors, Pentel Aquash brushes, Etchr A6 hot press sketchbook. Chipmunks are my most requested subject. ;-) #sciart

Watercolor painting of a chipmunk crouched on a green branch, facing right, with brown and cream stripes down its back and a small fuzzy brown and black caterpillar on the branch behind it. Warm tan and orange fur, white background, signed lower right. Sketchbook page.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 02/09/2026

Sketched this water buffalo with a single .5mm Pentel pencil, split across two days around surgery. Chose the subject partly because of the rope, a kind of restraint that felt familiar with two IV lines in my hands. Toughest sketch I've done from a place of physical weakness. #sciart

Graphite sketch of a domestic water buffalo, head lowered and horns curving wide, rendered in fine cross-hatched shading on a sketchbook page. Held open by hand with a mechanical pencil resting across the spine.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 30/08/2026

Sketched this cricket in graphite while recovering from surgery, five days in the hospital thinking about the crickets that keep me up at night. Pentel .3 and .5, Blu-Tack for highlights. Glad to be home and glad to hear them again. #sciart

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 15/08/2026

Closed out my Ithaca sketchbook with this anhinga. Etchr A5, Pentel water brushes, QoR watercolors. It's all water in this one, no sky, just the surface catching blue near the horizon and warming to tan up close. Masked the bird, branches, and reflections before painting it. #sciart #bird

Watercolor painting in an Etchr A5 sketchbook of an anhinga perched on a bare branch above still water. The water's surface shifts from pale blue near the horizon to warm tan below, reflecting the sky's color rather than showing sky itself. The bird and branch are mirrored below in a softer, looser reflection, with scattered reeds breaking the stillness.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 01/08/2026

This is the result of a 30 minute sketch through a spotting scope inside the Cornell Lab of Ornithology visitor centre in Ithaca, NY. This osprey moved just as I started. Tried the best I could. #bird #drawing

Graphite sketch of an osprey perched on a bare forked branch, drawn in a small sketchbook. The raptor's crest feathers stand slightly ruffled as it looks left. Loose expressive pencil strokes build layered feather texture against a clean white background.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 31/07/2026

Quick raven sketch, mid call. Worked the .3 and .5 graphite pencils to get that near black feather range without losing the shape. Ravens hold grudges for years apparently, feels right for a bird drawn looking this deliberate. Done at a coffee shop table in Ithaca. #birds

Graphite sketch of a raven mid call, beak open, feathers rendered in fine detailed strokes with dramatic tonal contrast. The bird stands on a branch, one leg lifted, set against a mostly blank cream page. A mechanical pencil, kneaded eraser, and coffee cup rest beside the sketchbook on a wooden table.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 12/07/2026

Our red squirrels have far more conservative ears, so this tufted little one felt like a fun challenge. But the branch sealed the deal. All that moss and texture. QoR watercolors and a Pentel Aquash brush in my Etchr A5 sketchbook. #sciart

Watercolor painting of a Eurasian red squirrel with tall tufted ears, sitting on a mossy, gnarled branch and holding a nut in its paws. Warm rust and orange fur with a full bushy tail, painted in fine detail on cream paper. The branch shows greens, browns, and cool blue-gray shadows.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 27/06/2026

Last drawing in the sketchbook and it had to be a giraffe. Rendered with Pentel GraphGear mechanicals and Blu-Tack for highlights. Mandy Mitchell's photography was the spark. No regrets. Full pages.

Graphite drawing of a giraffe's face and upper neck rendered in close frontal view on cream-toned sketchbook paper. Detailed fur texture, expressive dark eyes, and soft highlights created with lifting. Sketchbook held open on a wooden table with mechanical pencils below.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 14/06/2026

Painted this harvest mouse over a few coffee shop sessions with Golden QoR watercolors and Pentel Aquash brushes. Something about something this small, holding on so confidently, just made me want to pay attention. #sciart

Watercolor painting of a harvest mouse perched on a rose hip branch, clinging to the stems with tiny pink feet. Painted in warm golden browns and vivid reds against a pale cream background. Soft, detailed brushwork in a sketchbook format.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 05/06/2026

Watch out for turtles — it’s that time of year. Found this snapping turtle laying eggs at the roadside near the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and watched from my car. Drew her later with GraphGear 1000 pencils, Blu-Tack, and blenders. She knew that spot long before the road was there. #sciart

Graphite drawing of a snapping turtle viewed from the side in a small sketchbook, rendered with fine mechanical pencils. The turtle faces right with detailed scutes, textured skin, and a mossy shell. Grasses sketched loosely in the background. Cool grey tones on cream paper.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 30/05/2026

Baby killdeer, just a few days old. I’ve been watching these little ones tear around like they’re running from something only they can see, and when David O’Neill caught this photo. Golden QoR watercolors on Etchr hot press, Pentel Aquash fine and medium tips. #sciart #bird

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 26/05/2026

Found this American toad on a trail at Taughannock Falls, just sitting there watching us hike by. Drew it in graphite over a few coffee shop sessions. Somewhere in the middle it stopped feeling like a drawing and started feeling like sculpture. Knew it was done when it held still for me. #sciart

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 18/05/2026

Spent two slow coffee shop mornings in Ithaca NY on this Atlantic puffin. Watercolor in my Etchr hot press sketchbook, Pentel Aquash brushes, backup palette pulled out for those beak colors. Strangers kept stopping to chat. #sciart #bird

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 16/05/2026

Spent the week with this harvest mouse. All graphite, GraphGear 1000 in three weights, and the branch took longer than the mouse did. Retirement is coming up in August and I am finally letting drawings take the time they want to take and taking days off like today to do that. #sciart

Graphite drawing of a harvest mouse perched on a textured, lichen-covered branch, rendered in detailed black and gray pencil work. The mouse sits upright with its tail dangling, facing right, with small sprigs of foliage along the branch on a cream sketchbook page.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 13/05/2026

I spent a full day at an AI for Health Summit but I did spend an hour on this at a coffee shop before I started my day. Priorities. :-) #sciart #graphite #artist

An unfinished sketch of a mouse on a flower in a sketchbook with a pencil in view

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 06/05/2026

Drew a southern leopard frog in graphite this week. I think I’ve drawn more frogs than any other animal at this point. It’s become a way to measure how my hands have changed. The texture on this one would not let me put the pencil down. #sciart #pencil

Graphite drawing of a southern leopard frog in a sketchbook, shown in three-quarter view facing left. Detailed pencil work captures bumpy textured skin on the back, smooth pale belly, and large round eyes. A Pentel GraphGear 1000 mechanical pencil rests above the drawing.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 02/05/2026

Tawny owl and a field mouse on opposite posts, barbed wire between them. Watercolor in the sketchbook, Aquash brushes, QoR paints. Took me a few days to get back to this one. Work has been heavy. But I am retiring August 1 to do this full time. Soft landing into a new chapter. #sciart #bird

Watercolor painting of a tawny owl perched on a wooden fence post, with a small field mouse sitting on a second post connected by barbed wire. Painted in soft browns, ochres, and muted greens on cream-toned paper. The owl faces forward with large dark eyes.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 21/04/2026

Drew this African penguin this morning trying to quiet a loud week. GraphGear 1000s in a small sketchbook, started at a coffee shop, finished in a hospital cafeteria. Ninety minutes that felt like three hours. Exactly what I needed. #sciart #bird #graphite

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 19/04/2026

Finished this gyrfalcon at a coffee shop today. QoR watercolors, Etchr hot press sketchbook, fine and medium Pentel water brushes. Let it stay looser than I usually would. Felt good to just let the softness be there. #sciart #watercolor #art

Watercolor painting of a gyrfalcon perched on a weathered tree stump, rendered in soft grays, warm browns, and creamy whites with subtle yellow feet and beak. The bird faces left with detailed speckled plumage against a plain sketchbook background.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 05/04/2026

Highland cattle graphite study — layers of shaggy fur, loose graphite powder for the background, and Blu-Tack to pull out the light. These animals are endlessly drawable. #sciart #graphite🐄✏️

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 30/03/2026

Started this wanting to draw horns. Ended up drawing silence. Bighorn sheep in winter, rendered with Pentel GraphGear 1000s — the .2mm for tiny bare branches, the .5mm 4B for all that fur and shadow. This one was a true joy. #sciart #graphite

Graphite sketchbook drawing of a bighorn sheep ram standing in a snow-covered landscape. The ram faces left with large curved horns and detailed fur texture. Sparse winter shrubs and bare branches fill the background. Rendered in graphite on cream paper.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 29/03/2026

Quick sketch at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Volunteers had everyone drawing their bird. Standard colored pencils they had on hand, spare paper, 15 minutes of good conversation. Landed on the Northern Hawk Owl. Those eyes did most of the work. #bird #artist #cornell

Graphite and colored pencil sketch of a Northern Hawk Owl perched on a branch, centered on white paper. The bird faces forward with striking yellow eyes, dark facial markings, and warm brown and gray barred plumage. Signed “Mike Hendley.”

A map of the world superimposed with sketches of birds including my hawk owl

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 25/03/2026

Started a sketch of a big horn sheep this morning. So much change happening this year. Nice to find a few mins to sketch.

A start of a sketch of a big horn sheep showing its head looking left. Surrounded by two mechanical pencils.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 19/03/2026

Painted this barn owl on a trading card sized piece using Pentel Aquash brushes and QoR watercolors. Worked from a photo reference. Owls are magical. This series is quietly becoming one of my favorite things I make. #sciart #bird

Small watercolor painting of a barn owl perched on a wooden post, rendered in warm golds and soft whites with olive green background. The owl faces slightly left with detailed feather markings. Painted in a realistic style on a trading card sized piece.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 14/03/2026

Sketched an eastern spadefoot in my tiny sketchbook using Pentel GraphGear 1000 pencils (.2 HB, .3 2B, .5 4B). Weird little amphibian that isn't really a frog or a toad. They can stay buried underground for months or years, waiting for rain. #sciart #pencil #art

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 12/03/2026

Just finished this cedar waxwing artist trading card. Painted with QoR watercolors on hot press paper using a Pentel water brush. Waxwings love berries so much they sometimes get tipsy from fermented fruit. Painting this felt like holding a quiet breath. Affordable originals ;-) #bird #sciart

Small watercolor painting of a cedar waxwing perched on a thin branch with red berries. The bird has a soft tan body, black eye mask, gray wings, and yellow tail tip. The miniature artwork is mounted in a sleeve and displayed in a rigid card holder in someone's hand.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 07/03/2026

Lunchtime stop at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca. Two 15 minute ballpoint sketches. A black capped chickadee and a tufted titmouse. I left them on the inspiration wall. Tiny birds. Tiny drawings. Somehow it still feels like leaving a small conversation with nature behind. #sciart #bird

Hand holding a gray pen between two small square cards with ballpoint sketches of birds. Left card shows a fluffy tufted titmouse on a branch. Right card shows a black capped chickadee perched on twigs. A sign behind asks "Where do you find beauty in nature?" on an inspiration wall.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 06/03/2026

Started this tiny gray mouse lemur sketch over coffee in a café in Ithaca and finished it after work. A father and daughter nearby asked to see the sketchbook which was a nice surprise. Graphite with Pentel Graphgear pencils. Fun fact: gray mouse lemurs are the smallest primates on Earth. #sciart

Tiny graphite sketch of a gray mouse lemur peeking from behind textured tree bark in a small pocket sketchbook. The lemur's wide round eyes face forward while soft fur shading contrasts with the dark vertical bark.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 05/03/2026

I’m back in Ithaca NY visiting my daughter for a few days. Of course I sketched over some coffee at Ithaca Bakery before starting my day. #wip #sciart

A start of a sketch of a lemur looking out through a hole in a tree. In a sketchbook with pencils in the background.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 02/03/2026

A pair of chestnut breasted mannikins on thin twigs, started on the train and finished with all that track rhythm still in the lines. Pentel Graphgear 1000 in 2B, 4B, HB. Blender and BluTack to shape the graphite. These birds move in social flocks, almost like shared breath. #bird #sciart #graphite

Graphite drawing of a pair of chestnut breasted mannikins perched on thin twigs in a small open sketchbook. The two birds sit one above the other, softly shaded with dark faces and patterned chests. A hand holds the page, with pencils and a coffee cup behind.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 27/02/2026

Started this European barn owl yesterday on the train to Toronto and finished it waiting to head back to Ottawa. Painted in my A6 Etchr sketchbook with Pentel Aquash brushes and Golden QoR watercolors. #sciart #bird

Small watercolor of a European barn owl peeking through a weathered brick wall. Warm ochres and soft creams define the textured bricks, while the owl's pale heart shaped face is gently in focus, creating depth against a subtly blurred background.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 26/02/2026

Train ride to Toronto, tiny sketchbook open. Drew this Cooper's hawk from photos I took near downtown Ottawa. Pentel GraphGear 1000 .5 mm with 4B lead. They can pivot mid air to chase prey through trees. Sketching it felt steadier than the rails. #bird #sciart

Small graphite sketch of a Cooper's hawk perched on a tree branch, drawn in a tiny cream sketchbook. The hawk faces left with detailed feather texture and a sharp, watchful eye, rendered in 4B pencil. A hand holds the book with a silver mechanical pencil below.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 21/02/2026

Malignant. I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and surgery is coming soon. Season 2 of the podcast is delayed and I will not be teaching until fall. This western grebe, painted in QoR watercolors with Pentel Aquash pens, reminds me that even on water that feels unsteady, we can still rise.

Detailed watercolor painting of a western grebe floating on calm water with its reflection mirrored below. A tiny owl sketch rests between its feathers. Painted in golden tones in an Etchr A5 hot press sketchbook, held in hand beside QoR watercolors and Pentel Aquash brush pens.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 21/02/2026

Malignant. I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and surgery is coming soon. The podcast is delayed and I will not be teaching until fall. This western grebe, painted with QoR watercolors with Pentel Aquash pens, reminds me that even on water that feels unsteady, we can still rise. #birds #sciart

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 11/02/2026

Gave this pangolin 45 mins last night. Been avoiding it for months--was saving it for oils. But I needed to draw, even if it was quick. One pencil (4B), no erasing, no blending, no glasses. Just marks and motion. Sometimes the sketch is the real piece. The oil will come. #sciart #pencil

Detailed graphite sketch of a pangolin in grass, drawn in a pocket sketchbook with a Pentel Graphgear 1000 .5mm mechanical pencil. No erasing or blending.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 07/02/2026

Finally finished this Barbary striped grass mouse using Pentel Graphgear 1000s (.3 and .5). I used a tortillon for the blur and BluTack for those tiny highlights. I honestly might enjoy drawing the bark more than the mouse. Reference by the great Edwin Butter. #sciart

A realistic graphite drawing of a Barbary striped grass mouse with distinct dark stripes, perched on a piece of heavily textured bark. The mouse is alert, and the shading is soft and blended. The drawing is in an open sketchbook with pencils nearby.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 31/01/2026

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.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 29/01/2026

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.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 11/01/2026

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.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 10/01/2026

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.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 08/01/2026

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.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 03/01/2026

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.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 01/01/2026

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…

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 31/12/2025

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.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 28/12/2025

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.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 27/12/2025

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.

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Mike Hendley 🎨 ✍️ 🇨🇦 @mikehendley.com · 18/12/2025

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.

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