WildlifeInk

About the Artist and His Technique: David Mark Dillon is a Colorado native and has been drawing and painting wildlife since the age of thirteen. North American animals have always been his favorite, but has been known to drawn pets and, on rare occasions, people. David draws and paints in many different media. To create his wildlife cards, he chose a pen-and-ink technique called stippling. It takes approximately 20,000 dots with a rapidograph technical pen, along with 36 hours of patience, to create the original illustration. This technique enables him to achieve the detail he desires for his wildlife cards. Even though the illustrations are black and white, you can almost see the color of the animal. By varying the density of the dots, he allows you to visualize the creamy white of the polar bear, the blue in the blue jay, and the dark brown in the bull moose. With each illustration composed of thousands of tiny dots, the viewer is able to see each line in a feather or single hair on a mammal. David wants you to visually experience how soft the marmot's fur is, or see into the eyes of the bear gazing back at you. He always starts with the eyes. It gives him a sense that the animal or bird is watching him as he brings it to life in ink. Accuracy is a key goal in his work. David wants the person sending or receiving each card to know that the bird or animal is accurate in every detail. That is also why each card has a small paragraph of information about the animal on the back. In some of his illustrations, the mammal or bird is not completely finished. This is not an accident. He always draws with emotion, and sometimes when he looks down at his subject, something just tells him to stop. This is David’s way of always adding his personal touch to each illustration. Thank you for visiting his Website. David’s goal is to continue drawing North American wildlife, and as long as you enjoy it, he will draw it.