Wildlife Art
Original artwork by Arcadia Natives owner Kelly Strope.
From the Artist
Drawing has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I started with graphite and then over the years, developed a passion for colored pencil and soft pastel. My work has mostly been creating wildlife art as well as portraits of beloved family pets.
My love of photography has always complemented my artwork. I enjoy capturing the little moments in nature that might otherwise go unnoticed. The song sparrow pictured here, for example, had just finished bathing in our creek. It perched on a nearby branch and sang in the sunlight as its feathers dried. It was such a lovely moment that I knew I had to sketch it.
As the nursery grew, I found myself immersed in nature all the more. I began noticing countless connections between the wildlife I enjoyed observing and the plants that supported them. Those connections have become a wonderful source of inspiration for my creative ventures throughout the years. I hope you enjoy exploring some of the moments I’ve captured through my artwork.
Pennsylvania Wildlife
“Looking Back”
19.5″ x 27.5″ – Soft Pastel Pencils & Pan Pastels
Red Foxes eat a varied diet that includes small mammals, birds, eggs, and fruit. Native berry-producing shrubs, oaks, grasses, and dense hedgerows create valuable habitat—providing food and cover for foxes as well as the wildlife they hunt.
“Berry Bliss”
13″ x 11″ – Soft Pastel Pencils & Pan Pastels
Gray squirrels spend autumn gathering and caching food to carry them through winter. Oaks, black walnuts, and hickories provide valuable nuts, while native cherries, maples, pines, and berry-producing shrubs offer additional food and protective cover.
“Song of Spring”
10″ x 8″ – Colored Pencil
Song Sparrows favor open habitats such as yards, fields, marshes, and woodland edges. A mixed native planting of grasses, perennials, and shrubs provides winter seeds, protective cover, and the insects and caterpillars they seek during the growing season.
“Chickadee-dee-dee”
10″ x 8″ – Colored Pencil & Gesso
These lively little birds are year-round residents of Pennsylvania’s woodlands and gardens. Oaks, willows and birches support the caterpillars that Chickadees feed their young. Black-eyed susan, goldenrods and native sunflowers are just a few of many species that they may forage from for seeds.
“Nevermore”
10″ x 15″ – Soft Pastel Pencils & Pan Pastels
Common Ravens are intelligent, adaptable birds that feed on insects, small animals, carrion, fruits, and nuts. Native oaks, cherries, and berry-producing shrubs provide seasonal food. Mature trees and wooded habitats offer important nesting and roosting sites.
“Night Watch”
24″ x 36″ – Colored Pencil & Gesso
Great blue herons are often seen along Pennsylvania’s streams, ponds and wetlands. They hunt for fish and other small aquatic animals. Healthy waterways and native wetland plants provide important feeding and nesting habitat.
“Branching Out”
10″ x 8″ – Watercolor Colored Pencil
Orchard Orioles inhabit open woods or woodland edges. They feed primarily on insects and spiders, along with nectar and fruit. Oaks, willows, and cherries support the caterpillars and other insects they eat. Fruiting shrubs can provide additional seasonal food.
“Northern Cardinal”
8″ x 10″ – Colored Pencil
Cardinals rely on seeds, fruits, insects, and other foods throughout the year. Native winterberry, bayberry, and staghorn sumac can provide food and shelter. Late in the season, goldenrods, asters, coneflowers, and pokeweed can also offer nourishment for them.
“Monarch Caterpillar”
8″ x 10″ – Colored Pencil
Monarch caterpillars depend entirely on milkweed for survival. Common Milkweed, Swamp Milkweed, and Butterfly Milkweed are a few examples of their essential hosts. Planting a variety of native wildflowers can supply nectar for adult monarch butterflies.
MORE FROM THE STUDIO
Birds have always been a favorite subject, but my artwork over the years has included animals of many kinds. Here are a few pieces from beyond the Pennsylvania landscape. Click on the images for details.
“Stay Strong”
9″ x 12″
Colored Pencil
“Patiently Waiting”
18″ x 20″
Soft Pastel Pencils & Pan Pastels
“A Mother’s Love”
28″ x 20″
Soft Pastel Pencils & Pan Pastels
“Bully Blues”
20″ x 28″
Soft Pastel Pencils & Pan Pastels
“Brisco”
9″ x 6″
Soft Pastel Pencils & Pan Pastels
“Sleeping Cat”
7″ x 5″
Soft Pastel Pencils
“A Million Dreams”
19″ x 27″
Soft Pastel Pencils & Pan Pastels
“Bearded Dragon”
9″ x 12″
Graphite
“Casual Friday”
26.5″ x 19.5″
Soft Pastel Pencils & Pan Pastels
“Olli Olli”
12″ x 9″
Soft Pastel Pencils & Pan Pastels
“Second Chances”
9″ x 12″
Colored Pencil & Pan Pastels
“A Dog Called Sam”
10″ x 8″
Soft Pastel Pencils
“Benson”
8″ x 10″
Colored Pencils & Soft Pastel Sticks
“Terry” Jason Morgan Tutorial
8″ x 10″
Soft Pastel Pencils & Pan Pastels
“Pretty Ling”
10″ x 8″
Soft Pastel Pencils & Pan Pastels
“Li’l Lia”
10″ x 8″
Soft Pastel Pencils & Pan Pastels
“Magpie”
15.5″ x 12″
Soft Pastel Pencils & Soft Pastel Sticks
“Bailey”
10″ x 8″
Soft Pastel Pencils & Pan Pastels
“Blessed are the Meek”
10″ x 8″
Graphite
“Cutie”
10″ x 8″
Soft Pastel Pencils & Pan Pastels
“Abbey”
8″ x 10″
Colored Pencil
“Amazing Gracie”
10″ x 8″
Soft Pastel Pencils
“The Magnificent Puck”
10″ x 8″
Soft Pastel Pencils & Pan Pastels
“Peek-A-Boo”
16″ x 12″
Graphite
“Leopard Eyes” Jason Morgan Tutorial
5″ x 10″
Soft Pastel Pencils & Pan Pastels
“Bison”
10″ x 20″
Soft Pastel Pencils & Pan Pastels
“Tango”
10″ x 8″
Colored Pencil
“Mouse & Poppy”
10″ x 8″
Colored Pencil
“Easy Tulip Drawing in Procreate” Step-by-Step Tutorial
Kelly’s 1st Attempt at Digital Art
iPad Pro & Pencil
Meet the Artist
Kelly Strope is the owner of Arcadia Natives and a self-taught artist who has been drawing since childhood. Her preferred media includes graphite, colored pencil and soft pastel. Wildlife and animals have been her favorite subjects throughout the years.
Long before Arcadia became a native plant nursery, art played a role in funding its beginnings. Months of commissioned pet portraits helped to pay for potting soil and other supplies that were needed to get the nursery up and running!
Artist Awards & Publications
- “Casual Friday” — An oversized pastel portrait of a black pug named Toshi wearing a denim jacket. Awarded 2nd Place in the October 2019 Daily Paintworks Monthly Contest.
- “Stay Strong” — A colored pencil portrait of an orange tabby cat, featured in Ann Kullberg’s CP Treasures Volume IV. Awarded 3rd Place in the April 2017 Daily Paintworks Monthly Contest and 1st Place in the drawing category of Catit’s 2018 International Cat Art Contest.
- “Song of Spring” — A colored pencil portrait of a song sparrow, featured in the May 2017 issue of Color Magazine, in “The Pencil Box” Artist Showcase.
- “Bully Blues” — A soft pastel portrait selected for the Paws on Love exhibition at the Tifton Museum of Arts & Heritage, September 10–29, 2017. Awarded 1st Place in the 2D art category and 1st Place in the December 2017 Daily Paintworks Monthly Contest.