Grackles — Giclée on Paper Insects and Butterflies the mood carries the whole

the mood carries the whole painting

The open country behind the bird — fence line

the saguaro

Glen Loates is a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts whose work documenting Canadian wildlife spans five decades of international recognition

the petals' translucency suggested through layered coloured pencil without losing their weight

Grackles — Giclée on Paper Insects and Butterflies the mood carries the wholeTwo Common Grackles in a tropical tree one high on a branch singing, long tail fanned, the other hanging below among the broad leaves. The graphite study is from 1985, and the setting plumeria flowers at left, large tropical foliage suggests an observation made on one of Glen's working trips outside Canada. The rendering is exact: the grackle's iridescent plumage is suggested even in graphite through the careful modulation of tone. Drawing was the