Our first child, William was born this past March and I spent the good part of last year browsing decorating sites for nursery ideas. I found that African mammals seem to have cornered the market….they dominate the nursery scene. However, I doubt very seriously that William will come in contact with too many monkeys and giraffes any time soon. I thought why not showcase a collection of southeastern baby animals that he will actually see in real life.

My searches provided further inspiration when I found a featured nursery that had photographs of baby animals arranged in what I like to call "yearbook" style. I thought that this style would work well in our quirky nursery space.

Here is a progression of the little Owl .. I started with a pencil sketch from a picture of a baby owl and then built up his ruffled feathers in watercolor…Those yellow eyes really pop due to the contrast!

I admit that this project of mine was not an original idea but I liked it for your nursery and I enjoyed painting them. I chose to include our own native friends; coyote, barn owl, lamb, duck, fox and bobcat. I also threw in a hedgehog for fun. I have done many others. A wren, chicken, goat, horse, pig and the list goes on... If you have a particular animal you would like or a group - just let me know. I would love to add to the collection.

Individual Prints are available at my shop: http://meredithgillespie.com/shop/

Here is a photo of the finished nursery.