Dougalis Wildlifeart-Life studies-Portraits

Two years ago , in March of 2009, I was very privileged to be invited
to join an international group of nature artists in a ANF (Artists for Nature Foundation)
and SPNI(Society for the protection of Nature in Israel) Project
which took place at the magnificent Hula Valley in northern Israel.
The Hula Valley, an agricultural region in northern Israel with abundant fresh water
and many swamps has been almost completely drained during the 50's of 20th century.
Today, 60 years later, the importance of the lost ecosystems has been recognized and
recently a small section of the former lake and swamp region was reflooded in order to
recreate partly the former environment.
Meanwhile , the whole area has been transformerd to one of the most important stop overs
of migrating birds in the Middle East, and the main overwintering ground for thousands of Cranes,as well of Pelicans,and Eagles ...
The whole scenery was magnificent, the people there extraorinary friendly and helpful,
and the artists..I had t…

A Sakerfalcon portrait sketched using a scope today morning in Munich zoo..The main medium was the Bic black biro pen while a Brush Black pen from Faber-Castell has been also used
for the darker parts..

Once again an eagle owl study sketched today morning in Munich zoo..
The light was very low due to overcast weather...






















Siberian eagle owl

The cold and misty weather doesn't allow any attempt
to use watercolours in the field. In this case I use to visit the dark aquarium or even
other houses where because of the low light, my beloved Bic black biro pen is the only medium
I trust ...















Indian Rhino study















Blacktip Shark

It's true that I haven't been particularly interested in fishes in the past,
but this has been meanwhile changed, and since I've been
commisioned to illustrate several species lately, I thought
that I had to give me the chance to study them closer...
The Aquarium in Munich zoo hosts many species from all over the world
but this time the european species caught my attenion...all have been drawn using Bic pen















European chub















Sturgeon head study















Sturgeon overall view

Today morning in Munich zoo....





















Barn owl


















Nyala antelope, female

The Mhorr gazelle , critically endangered species,became extinct in the wild
during the sixties, caught my attention during a visit in our zoo...
After a couple of failed attempts, I managed to get this one ...

A chamois study made today morning in the Munich zoo..
Because of the distanse I used my scope to see the details.




















Abruzzo chamois

I've spend last weekend in Berlin and had the chance to visit after many years the East Berlin zoo
with it's rich mammal and bird collection.
The Raptors are always worth a visit and I couldn't resist to make a couple of studies...




















Eastern imperial eagle






















Harpy eagle female

After a long period time of sketching and illustrating
almost solely birds or trees, I went back to my beloved
mammals with their exceptional facial expressions
and I didn't regret it...
Today morning at Munich zoo.....

A siberian eagle owl study done on location in Munich zoo
today morning...





















Siberian eagle owl, Bubo bubo sibiricus

It is true that I've been very quiet lately...
It was because of the tight deadlines I had to catch up with,
while doing illustrations..
The German Bird atlas has been finished now, and during a visit
to my Parents in low in Saxony , I used the limited time I had to
recover and to do some field work..
(All the attached studies have been done on location in Saxony with the exception
of the Cormorant's head done in Munich zoo last week)















Great Cormorant head study

















White Stork head study















Common Rudd





















Red Kite
















European ground squirrel

A new european tree guide has been published by the german publisher KOSMOS
a week ago..
My contribution was to illustrate 351 tree species occuring in Europe, and took
me almost two years to complete the series...
Just click on the above title to see more ...




















Larix kaempferi















Juniperus turbinata ssp. canariensis




















Callistemon viminalis





















Abies alba





















Tsuga heterophylla

A quick study of a juv.Peregrine today morning in Munich zoo...