Bald Eagle Stamps Present a Fresh Take on America's National Symbol

How did you first become interested in learning about and drawing birds?

Well, my father is an ornithologist, so that surely had something to do with it. I had exposure and access to all things bird-related, and when very young became interested in birds and drawing them. Age seven is when I got serious enough to start keeping a list of all the birds I had seen.

I also liked to draw things like dinosaurs, which are the ancestors of birds. Watching and drawing are two things that really enhance each other. For me, they have always gone together — I watch birds and I draw them.

How did you approach the challenge of capturing five stages in a bald eagle's life within the constraints of the stamp format?

This is the same challenge I was faced with in my field guide illustrations. Distilling the variation in bald eagles into five postage stamps was very tricky — which life stages to show, what poses to use, or whether to show the whole bird or just a part. I worked with USPS art director Derry Noyes, whose help was invaluable, to figure out the best approach. After multiple drafts, we settled on using roughly similar views of the eagle(s) to emphasize the differences between ages, and also decided to zoom in on the heads to show enough detail. 

Your artwork is recognized for its detailed focus on the shapes, proportions, and color patterns of birds. Were you trained in a particular style or approach?

No, I have no formal training. I went to college for one year as a biology major, but I dropped out to spend my time outdoors watching and drawing birds. Through my father and his colleagues, I got a very thorough informal education in ornithology. I listened in on graduate student discussions and helped out with research, and it was the same with my art. I knew that I wanted to illustrate birds and create a field guide, so I studied other artists' work and practiced the techniques they used.