Hansen’s Field Guide to the Birds of the Sierra Nevada

Reflections on a transition from artist to author.

In the Wildlife Gallery showing my Bunting, Tanager plate.

Regarding the creation of this book, the art was the easy part.

Well, kind of!

With tongue in cheek, the portrayal of around 1,270 images depicting the 320 species for the field guide, while time consuming, was largely straight forward. After all, I have been drawing and painting birds since High School. I knew that illustrating any kind of comprehensive book would take time, it was however the unknown form that the text would take and what the flavor of it would be that had me vexed. Every bird species is incredibly special. Each has its own character, social structure, capability, limitation, intricate or bold plumage, and fascinating way. I wanted to accompany the species accounts with text that would be, not only accurate and informative, but engaging and lively. I wanted deeply to share my experiences of birding and birds from an artist’s perspective. I have spent a lifetime in the pursuit of locating, witnessing then hopefully portraying each bird with an eye toward capturing and giving back through an image, the thing I find so special. It is my challenge, my joy and passion to offer back just some of the beauty birds naturally bestow upon us all simply by their very being. So, through this eye, mind and hand, into line I attempt write them into a sort of reality not unlike with graphite and brush.