Wordly Ways Publishing
I've painted a couple of pottery pieces at birthday parties and tried to copy a small canvas tutorial (using 5 acrylic colors) on YouTube about 5 years ago. This project required me to step out of my skill level and buy paints I'd never used and brushes to make it look easy. While I fondly remember drawing pictures of birds, trees, and fences throughout my childhood, painting a book was never a thought. The idea of exploring which birds were mentioned in the Bible came about naturally from my daily walks at our local nature trail. Herons, egrets, owls, even bald eagles are some of the frequent feathered friends I see against a backdrop of bald cypress trees along Lake Houston.
I began to wonder if herons were found in the Bible. In my search, I was quite surprised by how many different birds were mentioned in the Bible. I've read the story of Noah often, but never realized he sent the raven first- the dove always was the bird that came to mind. These new discoveries inspired me to create a book that would introduce these beautiful birds to our new granddaughter. That week, the Audubon society here in Houston sent me an invitation to practice watercolor with a bird artist. God inspires us and, oh boy! does he light a path for us! My daughter and I signed up for the session. I was amazed at how the artist captured these birds and after trying to use watercolors (first time outside of coloring books as a child) I had managed to create an image- I was a little shocked the small painting actually favored a bird! That vulture sits pinned to my inspiration board in my bedroom as a reminder of how God encourages us to follow through where He leads us even if we don't feel capable.
I spent 4 months painting the birds, 3 days working through how to get a proper scan of them (using our iPhones, home printer and the high scanner at Office Depot), 5 days working feverishly on my 7 day trial of Photoshop and finally figuring out how to use layers/masking/CMYK v. RGB to name a few. I was highly encouraged by amazing photographs that captured such natural moments in the lives of these birds. What I couldn't find on creativecommons.org to inspire me, I relied on professional photographs from general photographers across the globe. Each one I contacted was very generous to let me reference their photos for my illustrations. Please check out their amazing work with birds and more:
www.robinchittenden.co.uk
www.birdsofsaudiarabia.com
www.clemensvanderwerf.com
www.marksmithgallery.com
www.agricaguide.com
www.mikeatkinson.net
When you look at the images they have managed to capture in the wild- your awe of God's creation takes flight!
The ebook was created using Kindle Direct Publishing through Amazon- but I hit a snag creating the paperback and hardback. Not understanding the book industry vernacular- I took 6x9 to mean landscape- not portrait. So, trim sizes available for print on demand (POD) don't quite match up with the size of my paintings. I was able to find a publisher in the USA who could publish the hardback and softcover. Both are now available on Amazon under the title Birdly Ways: Birds of the Bible. It was very exciting to unbox the shipment in front of the precious family who endured all the paints and sketches cluttering the kitchen bar.
This labor of love has spurred even more! I have now started painting a book of the trees in the Bible! Woodly Ways: Trees of the Bible and hope tackle the animals in the Bible soon. The learning curve on this first book was a bit steep- but editing in Canva and Photoshop can do wonders if you know how to use them. My daughter and I have a plan to create a children's board book about a fox in Scotland who scurries across the fishing villages of Scotland near Fife. She studied in Fife during the Covid lockdowns and her woodland walks inspired this series. If you have a vision for a book or something you've always wanted to create- don't hesitate to get started. It all starts with a simple idea!
I began to wonder if herons were found in the Bible. In my search, I was quite surprised by how many different birds were mentioned in the Bible. I've read the story of Noah often, but never realized he sent the raven first- the dove always was the bird that came to mind. These new discoveries inspired me to create a book that would introduce these beautiful birds to our new granddaughter. That week, the Audubon society here in Houston sent me an invitation to practice watercolor with a bird artist. God inspires us and, oh boy! does he light a path for us! My daughter and I signed up for the session. I was amazed at how the artist captured these birds and after trying to use watercolors (first time outside of coloring books as a child) I had managed to create an image- I was a little shocked the small painting actually favored a bird! That vulture sits pinned to my inspiration board in my bedroom as a reminder of how God encourages us to follow through where He leads us even if we don't feel capable.
I spent 4 months painting the birds, 3 days working through how to get a proper scan of them (using our iPhones, home printer and the high scanner at Office Depot), 5 days working feverishly on my 7 day trial of Photoshop and finally figuring out how to use layers/masking/CMYK v. RGB to name a few. I was highly encouraged by amazing photographs that captured such natural moments in the lives of these birds. What I couldn't find on creativecommons.org to inspire me, I relied on professional photographs from general photographers across the globe. Each one I contacted was very generous to let me reference their photos for my illustrations. Please check out their amazing work with birds and more:
www.robinchittenden.co.uk
www.birdsofsaudiarabia.com
www.clemensvanderwerf.com
www.marksmithgallery.com
www.agricaguide.com
www.mikeatkinson.net
When you look at the images they have managed to capture in the wild- your awe of God's creation takes flight!
The ebook was created using Kindle Direct Publishing through Amazon- but I hit a snag creating the paperback and hardback. Not understanding the book industry vernacular- I took 6x9 to mean landscape- not portrait. So, trim sizes available for print on demand (POD) don't quite match up with the size of my paintings. I was able to find a publisher in the USA who could publish the hardback and softcover. Both are now available on Amazon under the title Birdly Ways: Birds of the Bible. It was very exciting to unbox the shipment in front of the precious family who endured all the paints and sketches cluttering the kitchen bar.
This labor of love has spurred even more! I have now started painting a book of the trees in the Bible! Woodly Ways: Trees of the Bible and hope tackle the animals in the Bible soon. The learning curve on this first book was a bit steep- but editing in Canva and Photoshop can do wonders if you know how to use them. My daughter and I have a plan to create a children's board book about a fox in Scotland who scurries across the fishing villages of Scotland near Fife. She studied in Fife during the Covid lockdowns and her woodland walks inspired this series. If you have a vision for a book or something you've always wanted to create- don't hesitate to get started. It all starts with a simple idea!