News: illustration

mwashburnart

Rethinking Social Media

It’s been rough out there on social media lately. Those of us who aren’t adept at video are seeing our visibility and reach plummet. Many artists are very dismayed at what used to be a visual medium essentially giving us the boot. I, like many others, have started to focus on a well-curated monthly newsletter,…

Inktober 2022

Everyone’s favorite drawing challenge is nearly upon us, and I will again be joining some other fantastic author/illustrators to share our Inktober sketches throughout the month! I really hope to play around and create for more than just a couple of prompts, but if nothing else I’ll be posting something inky on Instagram on October…

Some Bad News and Some Good News

First, the Bad News You may have heard that the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) was added to the IUCN list of endangered species in July. Despite the status of this beautiful creature as an emblem of all things Environmental, we’re not doing enough. In July, I promised to share some information and resources on how…

Photograph of a 72" square woven cotton throw with an image of a large sunflower surrounded by swallows and thistle plants

New Cotton Throw Design

I had such a wonderful experience earlier this year working with Fiber Art Weavers on the moon moth throw blanket that I decided to design another. This 62×62″ recycled cotton throw features barn swallows and a golden sunflower. You can preorder the sunflowers and swallows design now in my shop, with an expected ship time of early…

VCC_Birds-of-Paradise-67

Indiana Dunes Birding Festival

A recent bright spot for me in this utterly depressing spring was the IDBF. Did you know that an estimated 8 million birds that flew overhead during just the first 3 days of the festival on their annual migratory journeys? The Lake Michigan shoreline is a major funnel for birds making their journeys every spring…

thoughtandmemory_square

International Raven and Crow Day

April 27 is International Raven and Crow Day. There is so much rich myth and folklore from all over the world about these birds, members of the family Corvidae. Who knew? Candace Savage’s brilliant book Bird Brains explores some of the current science on these clever birds; it’s a fascinating read if you’d like to…

startandfinish_magpie

Start to Finish

I love watching other artist’s process videos showing sketch to final. I’m trying to do more of my own, though I struggle a little with good lighting and quality video. Just because some folks make it look easy doesn’t mean it is! In any case, I finished this Valentines Day greeting card earlier this week,…

an image of jigsaw puzzles featuring bird illustrations by Melissa Washburn

New Products in my Etsy Shop

I’ve just found a couple of new production partners, and am now offering 100% recycled notepads and 500-piece jigsaw puzzles in my Etsy shop! You can find notepads HERE and puzzles HERE.