14 June 2011

Specimens



I spent a cold, grey afternoon at the Harvard Museum of Natural History. I'm fascinated by how the specimens are organized and labelled. Especially the extensive collection of hummingbirds. They are elegant and slightly disturbing at the same time.


Sometimes in order to understand the shape of things, I have to draw around them.

And I currently have the song Skip the Charades by Cold War Kids stuck in my head.


sketchbook copyright Kate Castelli 2011

4 comments:

Amanda Laurel Atkins said...

yay Natural History! Hope you had fun :)

ETCIllustration said...

I love your negative space bird gestures!

Simon Spare said...

Being English, hummingbirds are very foreign to me, but we just got back from a vacation in California and Portland Oregon, and saw loads of them - they are beautiful, as is the noise they make. Seems such a shame they are all pinned under glass - they make great shadows though!!

Loving your drawings too.

Kate said...

Thank you! I grew up in New England seeing Ruby Throated Hummingbirds all summer. They always seemed a bit mischievous to me.