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Welcome to My Stipple Art Website! I do Marine (Ocean) animals in a unique art form called 'stipple art'. It is similar to pointillism, however it consists of only black dots on white paper, with no color as in pointillism. This art form has been around for centuries (1400s) and is the primary form of art for scientific illustration. Many still used this while other illustrators choose more digital, color renderings of the animals. Stipple art is beautiful in its simplicity and complexity, and that is why I am resurrecting it as a mainstream art form. Enjoy the stipple art designs I have created and thanks for stopping by! |
About the Artist
I grew up along the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. My first job was as a deckhand on a Fisheries boat working for the Gulf Coast Research Lab. I helped haul in nets, sorted, counted and learned to identify the animals we caught. This triggered my love of the Ocean and all of its amazing animals. Thus, it is no wonder that when I went for a graduate degree, my research animal was in the Ocean! I am now a Ph.D. biologist with a Marine Biology research background. I studied a small (1mm) crustacean called a copepod that lives in the intertidal zone of salt-water marshes. I drew my first illustration for a scientific publication during my twenties, while working at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, PA. I described a new species of “water flea” (about the same size as dog fleas). This illustration was published in a national scientific journal. I was blessed with an inherited artistic gene, thus drawing the animals I studied came naturally.
It was with this illustration of the water flea that I came to do stipple art. Scientific illustration for new species description is a critical component of the description and must include crucial line drawings and stippling. The details must be very sharp to illustrate what separates this species from all the others. The details include things such as spines, hairs, ridges, color, or any marking. The stipple technique allows for these minute details to be shown clearly in black and white, and it reproduces very well for publication.
Years later while pursuing tenure, my art took a back burner. In 2011 my daughter wanted to purchase “marine organisms” art for her wall and I told her I would be happy to do them. This was the beginning of my new focus on Biological art using the skills I had learned from scientific illustration, combining them with my love of marine organisms. I wanted to show the general population the beauty of a stippled art drawing. This art form is typically hidden in Science textbooks or journals and never seen by the public.
I want everyone to enjoy the beauty and complexity of the wonderful marine animals in our Oceans. I also wish to protect them and preserve them for future generations. I am a member of “Oceana”, an organization whose focus is Ocean preservation. I also support Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club and Environmental Defense Fund.
It was with this illustration of the water flea that I came to do stipple art. Scientific illustration for new species description is a critical component of the description and must include crucial line drawings and stippling. The details must be very sharp to illustrate what separates this species from all the others. The details include things such as spines, hairs, ridges, color, or any marking. The stipple technique allows for these minute details to be shown clearly in black and white, and it reproduces very well for publication.
Years later while pursuing tenure, my art took a back burner. In 2011 my daughter wanted to purchase “marine organisms” art for her wall and I told her I would be happy to do them. This was the beginning of my new focus on Biological art using the skills I had learned from scientific illustration, combining them with my love of marine organisms. I wanted to show the general population the beauty of a stippled art drawing. This art form is typically hidden in Science textbooks or journals and never seen by the public.
I want everyone to enjoy the beauty and complexity of the wonderful marine animals in our Oceans. I also wish to protect them and preserve them for future generations. I am a member of “Oceana”, an organization whose focus is Ocean preservation. I also support Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club and Environmental Defense Fund.
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