Environment
Lifeforms
Fantasy
Lifeforms
Fantasy
Illustration, photography and stories rooted in the natural world, from environmental education to portraits of companion animals, to the contemporary fantasy tales of the Earth Life Foundation and Hawk Circle Farm. Explore. Learn. Flourish.
contact me for commissions, prices, classes:
[email protected]
details on pricing, etc click here
pay through PayPal, (with or without your own account)
to [email protected]
[email protected]
details on pricing, etc click here
pay through PayPal, (with or without your own account)
to [email protected]
https://www.facebook.com/swordwhale
Tune in to my Facebook page for livestreams as I work!
join my Patreon and support your local artist! ...and get free downloads and things!
https://www.patreon.com/swordwhale?fan_landing=true
Fanfiction and random ramblings (mostly Elves):
https://www.inkitt.com/teanna
https://www.fanfiction.net/u/290949/Teanna
Artist, writer, photographer, horseman, kayaker, mermaid, swordbroad, and trainer of Thor's Team of Chaos (two determined Boer goats). Have wrangled bitey otters and barfing vultures for wildlife rehabbers, trained a three and a quarter dog sled team, and wrestled a (very smol) tiger. Nerd: science fiction, fantasy, superheroes, animation, science, fan of weird early lifeforms on this planet. Lives with four house panthers an old bay mare and many fish and shrimp. Practices tai chi... and practices... and some day might be able to stand on one foot...
Completely dysfunctional before 10am unless highly caffeinated.
below: a small portfolio, and some truly random selfies
Seaponies of Chincoteaguethe ponies of Chincoteague Island, in their seahorse forms
(maybe your pony is a seahorse at heart too) watercolor on vellum bristol, 9x12, 11x14, or on a folded card FANART from Middle EarthLord of the Rings and Middle Earth have been staples in my life since 1978, when I first played D&D and read LOTR. I immediately identified with the Elves.
I can do character portraits, or tweak your existing art on Photoshop. No AI, ever!
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WINGS: Rainbow Bridge Pets & othersmemories of old friends, whatever the species
watercolor on vellum bristol, 9x12 or 11x14 Matboard MiniaturesMiniatures: Prismacolor pencil on recyled/repurposed matboard samples rescued from a defunct art store. Sizes vary but about smart phone sized.
Just PortraitsPortraits, just portraits. Watercolor/Prismacolor, 9x12 or 11x14
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here are the latest books
My books on Amazon click here.
Tales of Hawk Circle and the ELF
Somewhere, in the place in south central Pennsylvania, where the forested hills flatten into farming valleys, and the Susquehanna rolls down to the Chesapeake Bay and then to the sea, is Hawk Circle, one outpost of the Earth Life Foundation's never ending quest to...
...no no, not hunt orcs on moonless nights.
To educate, legislate, and make the world thrive for future generations. "One of many dot-orgs vying for your tax-deductible donations".
The wildlife experts, endangered species caretakers, rehabbers, content creators, horsemen, writers, photographers, and educators are just a little... older, and weirder, than most.
They are the fae; the elves, dwarves, fauns, centaurs, merfolk, selkies, kelpies and others only remembered now in legend, but tasked with connecting their younger siblings, humans, with the natural world.
...no no, not hunt orcs on moonless nights.
To educate, legislate, and make the world thrive for future generations. "One of many dot-orgs vying for your tax-deductible donations".
The wildlife experts, endangered species caretakers, rehabbers, content creators, horsemen, writers, photographers, and educators are just a little... older, and weirder, than most.
They are the fae; the elves, dwarves, fauns, centaurs, merfolk, selkies, kelpies and others only remembered now in legend, but tasked with connecting their younger siblings, humans, with the natural world.
Black Horses is rooted in my own lifetime of experiences with horses, and in particular, one wild black mare named Lor, who came to me, wild as can be, at age 8.
This story gallops over the now familiar land and waterscapes of southcentral PA, the DelMarVa Peninsula, and the islands of Assateague and Chincoteague, which I discovered in the Misty of Chincoteague books by Marguerite Henry, illustrated by the wonderful Wesley Dennis. I first went there in 1972, the last year Misty was alive.
Photos from the journey can be found here.
The Chincoteague ponies on the back cover are Riptide's band (in 2022): L to R: Marguerite, Black Pearl, Liz's Serenity, Wildfire, Surfer's Riptide. The bridle on the black mare on the cover is Doctor Cook's Bitless Bridle, which works well on my wild black mare's daughter. The lighthouse is the Assateague light. I am not a costume designer, I do appreciate good design in the many films and series I enjoy... I was aiming for a not-medieval look (I've done plenty of medieval costuming for both me and my horses), because Erda is not our history...
...one might find anything there. Even starships.
Fins is readable by or to younger readers, but still enjoyable for all ages. It contains many photos from the Chesapeake Bay environments, as well as illustrations. Landlubber Nai'a must make a dangerous voyage across the Chesapeake Bay to save a life. Harder still is finding her place in the world her mom loves. And what is the secret of their marine environmentalist/photographer guide and the big black kayak Nai'a is now paddling? Journey into the marshes and wide reaches...and one remote island...of the Chesapeake Bay, where adventure awaits!
sElf Serve is a collection of short stories from Hawk Circle. OMG did I just write romance? Nooooooooo! Definitely NOT your mama's romance:
Bardic Circle:
The place where you party, drink meade, tell tales and sing. But fighting bard Aislinn's harp is silent...is the magic dead?
Leyover:
Wildlife rehabber and raptor expert Marshawk left a roadkill skunk in the fridge of cheatin boyfriend Mr. I Fear Commitment. Now, on an ELF mission in Ireland, she discovers it really is the Land 'o' Legends. But what the heck is her ripped jeans, battered-hiking-booted fellow naturalist doing in her faerie tale dream?
Gatesinger:
"The currents and winds blow across the vast sea, now you just have to set your sails."
"OK, fine, Mom. I set the sails, I see the island, but the ship is taking on water, and the last spoon has gone overboard."
The second job at Hawk Circle (and one of the other resident environmental educators) is far more interesting for Rainger Murphy than her soul sucking dammit job... and far weirder. Especially when an impromptu roundup of escaped exotic wildlife ensues.
Skyfire:
"Ask me about the sword." Bran said.
The story behind the wyrd relic has implications for Rainger and Elf. Sequel to Gatesinger.
Fighting Bard:
"My Lady Aislinn, we have need of a fighting bard again." Bran needs his best bardic buddy to cover a faerie festival program, and also to look after his cousin, who hasn't been in the mundane world since World War II. Sequel to Bardic Circle.
My books on Amazon click here.
For excepts, random short tales, and other goodies, join me on facebook or patreon.
This story gallops over the now familiar land and waterscapes of southcentral PA, the DelMarVa Peninsula, and the islands of Assateague and Chincoteague, which I discovered in the Misty of Chincoteague books by Marguerite Henry, illustrated by the wonderful Wesley Dennis. I first went there in 1972, the last year Misty was alive.
Photos from the journey can be found here.
The Chincoteague ponies on the back cover are Riptide's band (in 2022): L to R: Marguerite, Black Pearl, Liz's Serenity, Wildfire, Surfer's Riptide. The bridle on the black mare on the cover is Doctor Cook's Bitless Bridle, which works well on my wild black mare's daughter. The lighthouse is the Assateague light. I am not a costume designer, I do appreciate good design in the many films and series I enjoy... I was aiming for a not-medieval look (I've done plenty of medieval costuming for both me and my horses), because Erda is not our history...
...one might find anything there. Even starships.
Fins is readable by or to younger readers, but still enjoyable for all ages. It contains many photos from the Chesapeake Bay environments, as well as illustrations. Landlubber Nai'a must make a dangerous voyage across the Chesapeake Bay to save a life. Harder still is finding her place in the world her mom loves. And what is the secret of their marine environmentalist/photographer guide and the big black kayak Nai'a is now paddling? Journey into the marshes and wide reaches...and one remote island...of the Chesapeake Bay, where adventure awaits!
sElf Serve is a collection of short stories from Hawk Circle. OMG did I just write romance? Nooooooooo! Definitely NOT your mama's romance:
Bardic Circle:
The place where you party, drink meade, tell tales and sing. But fighting bard Aislinn's harp is silent...is the magic dead?
Leyover:
Wildlife rehabber and raptor expert Marshawk left a roadkill skunk in the fridge of cheatin boyfriend Mr. I Fear Commitment. Now, on an ELF mission in Ireland, she discovers it really is the Land 'o' Legends. But what the heck is her ripped jeans, battered-hiking-booted fellow naturalist doing in her faerie tale dream?
Gatesinger:
"The currents and winds blow across the vast sea, now you just have to set your sails."
"OK, fine, Mom. I set the sails, I see the island, but the ship is taking on water, and the last spoon has gone overboard."
The second job at Hawk Circle (and one of the other resident environmental educators) is far more interesting for Rainger Murphy than her soul sucking dammit job... and far weirder. Especially when an impromptu roundup of escaped exotic wildlife ensues.
Skyfire:
"Ask me about the sword." Bran said.
The story behind the wyrd relic has implications for Rainger and Elf. Sequel to Gatesinger.
Fighting Bard:
"My Lady Aislinn, we have need of a fighting bard again." Bran needs his best bardic buddy to cover a faerie festival program, and also to look after his cousin, who hasn't been in the mundane world since World War II. Sequel to Bardic Circle.
My books on Amazon click here.
For excepts, random short tales, and other goodies, join me on facebook or patreon.
More Tales of Hawk Circle: Model Photography
Don't let your collections sit on a shelf, take them on adventures. I've photographed my model horses, night furies, action figures and others, both in the backyard, and on actual adventures. It let's you see a familiar place from a new perspective. It can give kids a hands on creative tool on a trip where they might otherwise fidget right past the good stuff.
Over the years, I've customized various dolls and critters into Hawk Circle's Elves, unicorns, horses and others. Click here for more...
Over the years, I've customized various dolls and critters into Hawk Circle's Elves, unicorns, horses and others. Click here for more...
support your local indie artist/writer & publishers
join me on Patreon, get sneak peeks, tutorials, and book looks
also high quality jpgs to download or print
https://www.patreon.com/swordwhale
Grandma Swordwhale's Mermaiding Book
Grandma Swordwhale's Mermaiding Book is for anyone who loves Planet Water and merfolk.
Merfolk are any size, any shape, any color, any gender, any age.
Putting on a tail and swimming like a merrow is exercise for body, mind and spirit. If you can't swim, you can decorate your mer-grotto, do land based photoshoots, play with green screen, explore your local waters by wading with an underwater viewer (you can make one) or by kayak or by visiting an aquarium. Create your own oasis with a garden pond or fish tank.
You don't have to have lots of money to do any of it. There are inexpensive monofins and tails, or you can make your own tail. A home aquarium can be a five gallon tank and some cherry shrimp. A garden pond can be a tub with water plants that attracts frogs and birds. Decorating can be done with treasures from a thrift shop.
In this book I show you how to do all of that. And then explore a few of the wonders of my backyard in the Chesapeake Bay watershed from pond to stream to east coast barrier islands.
Merfolk are any size, any shape, any color, any gender, any age.
Putting on a tail and swimming like a merrow is exercise for body, mind and spirit. If you can't swim, you can decorate your mer-grotto, do land based photoshoots, play with green screen, explore your local waters by wading with an underwater viewer (you can make one) or by kayak or by visiting an aquarium. Create your own oasis with a garden pond or fish tank.
You don't have to have lots of money to do any of it. There are inexpensive monofins and tails, or you can make your own tail. A home aquarium can be a five gallon tank and some cherry shrimp. A garden pond can be a tub with water plants that attracts frogs and birds. Decorating can be done with treasures from a thrift shop.
In this book I show you how to do all of that. And then explore a few of the wonders of my backyard in the Chesapeake Bay watershed from pond to stream to east coast barrier islands.
pay through PayPal, (with or without your own account)
to [email protected]
inspired by fantasy & myth, nature, the sea, superheroes and science
dammit Jim, I'm a nature based artist, not an engineer
You can get a clear idea of what I do by looking at my samples on this page, and on other pages on this site. I do nature, animals, myth, fantasy. I can do a decent human (or Elf, fae, mer, Romulan, superhero or others) and a terrific horse (or help you learn how to draw one). I do NOT do houses, cars, bikes, cityscapes, spaceports, starships (much as I love them), or Spiderman swinging through the streets of NYC (much as I love Spidey, I hate cities and perspective!). If you have an idea for an art piece, ask! I promise I won't feed you to the house dragon...
My primary medium is watercolor with Prismacolor Pencil and acrylic touches. I also have done nature-based murals for local parks using house paint and acrylics (I am limiting my murals to them for various reasons including arthritis). I have taught basic watercolor and wildlife sketching classes for those parks too, mainly Nixon Park in Jacobus PA. I can do art classes in southcentral PA. I can ship reasonably sized pieces of art on paper nearly anywhere.
If, however, you are in Tasmania, it will be you paying for shipping...
I do a fair amount of photography I call "play with your toys"; photographing collectibles, toys and models in natural settings. It's a fun project to teach kids; take a character on your next hike or vacation and photograph them! There is a section on this website to demonstrate the fun! I can also teach a class on it!
Also: Gramma Swordwhale (or Mermom) mermaid.
If, however, you are in Tasmania, it will be you paying for shipping...
I do a fair amount of photography I call "play with your toys"; photographing collectibles, toys and models in natural settings. It's a fun project to teach kids; take a character on your next hike or vacation and photograph them! There is a section on this website to demonstrate the fun! I can also teach a class on it!
Also: Gramma Swordwhale (or Mermom) mermaid.
pay through PayPal, (with or without your own account)
to [email protected]
wetland mural, Nixon County Park Jacobus PA, detail of great egret fishing
here there be...dragons...
art, stories, crafty stuff, photography, adventures, videos
and elves and mer-folk of all types
scroll down for pages to explore
links to social media
about the artist
check the menu at the top of the page for how-tos and adventures
(exploring Planet Water, kayaking, mushing, pirate ships, Viking ships, horses, and more)
my audience is general, but I keep it kid friendly
Artist, writer, photographer, horseman, kayaker, mermaid, and trainer of Thor's Team of Chaos (two determined Boer goats). Have wrangled bitey otters and barfing vultures for wildlife rehabbers, trained a three and a quarter dog sled team, and wrestled a (very smol) tiger. Nerd: science fiction, fantasy, superheroes, animation, science, fan of weird early lifeforms on this planet. Lives with four house panthers and many fish and shrimp.
Have done my favorite work, environmental education art, for local parks. I have paddled in the wake of dolphins, trained actual wild mustangs, a 3 1/4 dog sled team, and live with a small pride of mini panthers. Volunteered with wildlife rehabbers: yes riding in a closed van with a barfing vulture is fun, otters can bite through 6ml dive gloves, and a four month old tiger is the largest one you want to wrestle.
Have decorated underwater Yule trees (styrofoam satin balls compress, the thread wafts off, and they hang UP), carved underwater pumpkins (bluegills spit out the pumpkin bits, but like to taste your thumb). I once spent Halloween, and one earthquake, on pirate ships (see the pirates and privateers section). I also spent one Halloween night working with a lovely young man who had a great Dracula accent.. because he was, in fact, from Transylvania.
Adventure, it's out there, you just need some imagination!
Have done my favorite work, environmental education art, for local parks. I have paddled in the wake of dolphins, trained actual wild mustangs, a 3 1/4 dog sled team, and live with a small pride of mini panthers. Volunteered with wildlife rehabbers: yes riding in a closed van with a barfing vulture is fun, otters can bite through 6ml dive gloves, and a four month old tiger is the largest one you want to wrestle.
Have decorated underwater Yule trees (styrofoam satin balls compress, the thread wafts off, and they hang UP), carved underwater pumpkins (bluegills spit out the pumpkin bits, but like to taste your thumb). I once spent Halloween, and one earthquake, on pirate ships (see the pirates and privateers section). I also spent one Halloween night working with a lovely young man who had a great Dracula accent.. because he was, in fact, from Transylvania.
Adventure, it's out there, you just need some imagination!
join the fleet
friend me at Teanna Byerts: https://www.facebook.com/swordwhale
(art, nature, cats, ponies, wild ponies, kayaking, mermaids, tutorials and livestreams)
art page and tutorials: https://www.facebook.com/swordwhalewalking/
swordwhale1 on youtube
art, kayaking, sled dogs, pirate ships and wild ponies
https://www.youtube.com/user/swordwhale1
Instagram @teannabyerts
nature, art, cats and other fun stuff
Original fanfiction and random ramblings: https://www.inkitt.com/teanna
In places where there are seals, there are selkie legends: seal folk who take off their skins to walk on land in human form. On the Northwest Coast of North America, there are similar legends of whale folk who take off their fins... the fin becomes a boat. The shape of a paddler in a kayak is exactly the same as a surfacing orca. A male orca's tall fin is the same size and shape as a 6ft. surfboard. Swordwhale is (in parts of Europe, whence came my ancestors) one of the many names for orca.
pages to explore
click on the pictures below or use the menu at the top to navigate
art and stories
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how to art
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