Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Orcas of Puget Sound



Protect Orcas of Puget Sound

I thought it would be fun to make a postcard showing two orcas rising up out of the water with some Bruce Springsteen "Never Surrender" type of title.

I designed this postcard with Katherine Zecca's artwork to serve as a Public Service Announcement for People for Puget Sound following the Endangered Species Act listing of orcas in Puget Sound in November 2005.

Comments/reviews are welcome.



TSC

Thanks GW Bush! National Debt now $8 trillion for the first time

Data Point: Outrageous Debt


As the USA national debt surpassed $8 trillion for the first time...

"[President Bush] has borrowed more money - $1.05 trillion - from foreign governments and banks since taking office than all other presidents combined. From 1776 to 2000, the nation's 42 presidents borrowed a combined $1.01 trillion from foreign interests."

*Source: San Francisco Chronicle, 11/27/05

Monday, November 28, 2005

Good Nature Publishing tree posters for plant identification

Good Nature Publishing Co catalog here

Good Nature specializes in high quality color pencil and watercolor realist illustrations of native trees, wildflowers, herbs, Pacific salmon, and more. We have plant identification posters for every region of the country.

michigan tree leaf identification,tree nut identification,norway maple tree identification, tree identification in northeast,cottonwood tree identification,fall tree identification worksheet,indiana tree bark identification,tree identification of mississippi,tree identification germany,tree and seed and identification,tree leaf identification for kids,northern catalpa tree identification,new york state tree identification,tree identifications for holly, rubber tree plant identification, winter tree identification washington, tree identification by dichotomous key, dichotomous key tree identification curriculum, tree leaf identification with scientific names, tree identification silver bark, oak tree identification by acorn, pennsylvania tree identification guide, oak tree leaf identification, tree identification for kids worksheet, kids tree identification worksheet, italian tree identification,tree identification in northwest indiana, tree identification with pictures, pine tree identification + georgia, tree identification guide and free and online, tree maple identification, redbud tree identification, tree silhouette identification, live oak tree identification photo, oak tree identification, tree identification in nc, wisconsin tree identification, aspen tree identification, gooseberry tree identification, tree identification mountain, illinois tree identification, nut tree identification, pine tree identification, dichotomous key tree identification, help with tree leaf identification, tree leaf identification, online guide to tree identification, minnesota tree identification, tree bark identification, cherry tree identification, maple tree identification, walnut tree identification, tree identification photos, indiana tree identification, tree seed identification, michigan tree identification, tree identification by leaf, tree identification by leaves, wild cherry tree identification, hawthorn tree identification, american tree identification, willow tree identification, tree leaves identification, tree identification online guides, north american tree identification, tropical tree identification, tree identification texas, shade tree identification, maine tree identification, ohio tree identification, tree identification white ash, leaf tree identification, palm tree identification, bark tree identification, tree identification for kids, pennsylvania tree identification, new jersey tree identification, hardwood tree identification, tree identification florida, apple tree identification, tree identification books, tree identification pictures, arkansas tree identification, texas tree identification, tree identification ash, elm tree identification, hackberry tree identification, tree identification key, tree identification leaf, winter tree identification,free + tree + identificationoaks, conifer poster , pine tree field guide, native wildflower poster, tree,art, poster, print, nature, fish, salmon, Pacific Northwest, watersheds,original, Jean Emmons watercolor, Carol Woodin watercolor, Kate Nessler painting, Katie Nessler, Mike Lee, color pencil, native, plant, hummingbird, flora,fauna, illustration,North, East, subtropic, palm,maple, extinct, herb, garden, master gardener, herb garden poster, herb poster, botanical tours to italyvy botanical prints, botanical latin pronunciation software,missouri botanical gardens+bioms,archipelago botanicals key west, memphis botanical garden, yampa valley botanical, antique botanical prints framed, botanical artwork drawing pen and ink, botanical drawings prints, botanical gardens of the southeast, botanical medication, botanical artwork drawing, horus botanicals,botanical garden gift shop, pacific botanicals, purple prairie botanicals,botanical garden designs, botanical encyclopedia

Saturday, November 26, 2005

It's Not a Race

Cartoon in 11/26/05 New Yorker by Danny Shanahan (See more cartoons at New Yorker here)

Enjoy...

Monday, November 14, 2005

Ecosystems in Peril: Invasive Plants of Interior Northwest Forests

Ecosystems in Peril: Invasive Plants of the Interior Northwest. Copyright Good Nature Publishing Co. 2005 Illustrated by Mike Lee.

Ecosystems in Peril is a new poster by Good Nature Publishing artist Mike Lee. The focus of this art is to introduce urbanistas, campers, naturalists and biology teachers about the serious problems we face in the Northwest forests due to invasive plants.

First in a series of poster size field guides to educate and activate citizens in the Northwest about plant problems we can solve today before they get out of hand.

For ordering info please contact Good Nature Publishing http:/www.goodnaturepublishing.com or call 800-631 3086.

Treemendously, Timothy Colman, publisher

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Invasive Species story in Seattle Post Intelligencer

Volunteers Meghan Welch and Peter Richardson yank out some stubborn English ivy during an EarthCorps event at Cheasty Greenspace in Rainier Valley. The invasive ivy chokes trees. (November 07, 2005)

Credit: Dan DeLong/Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The good people at Seattle PI wrote a great story on invasive species and the destruction than create in our urban forests.

Reporter Lisa Stiffler gets Good Nature Publishing's Citizen Science Award for her skillful reporting.

PS: My client in the Forest Service in Oregon emailed me by end of day this story was published to make sure I saw it. Of course we had picked it already -- but interesting to note the range of Google News on work life.

Hats off to the artists and writers at Seattle Post Intelligencer.

Treemendously, Timothy

Saturday, November 05, 2005

Rosa




Never surrender.

Friday, November 04, 2005

Hedgerows of Puget Sound with Northwest Native Biodiversity

Copyright Good Nature Publishing Co. 2006. Illustrated by Suzanne Duranceau. (Click on image to enlarge.)

Hedgerows of Puget Sound


Hedgerows of Puget Sound illustrates the rich biodviersity farms can encourage by growing native shrubs and trees together into living fences.

Hedgerows provide us with many benefits: they prevent soil erosion, improve fertility, and create riparian buffers that protect precious wetlands from pollution.

King Co. Conservation District commissioned this art to educate farmers and urbanistas about the value of hedgerows to our rural landscape.

Available for now by asking for it. We'll update the website soon. $16.99/$30 laminated.

Get yours today by calling 1-800 631-3086 or go to Good Nature's website and add this new poster to your order. (Just write in Hedgerows poster in your order page "Comments" box.

Thanks for your review.

Treemendously,

Timothy

Thursday, November 03, 2005

Jean Emmons Won RHS Gold Medals for Western Iris Paintings -- Jean rocks!




Watercolor paintings of the the rich brown Iris 'Ununhum,' above, and the near-black Iris 'Night Gown' (previous image) were gold-medal winners for Jean Emmons.


Seattle Times Pacific Northwest's Valerie Easton wrote:

There's gold in these paintings

Vashon botanical artist Jean Emmons was honored with a gold medal at the 2005 Royal Horticultural Society Exhibit in Birmingham, England, this past June. Emmons describes the big international show as "the Olympics of botanical art." In preparation, Emmons grew an assortment of Pacific Coast hybrid iris for four years, painting them as they came into bloom. Eight of her life-size paintings were exhibited along with the work of 80 other selected artists from around the globe. The British judges questioned the near-turquoise blue of our native 'Magic Sea' iris, wondering if perhaps Jean had exaggerated its unique coloration. An expert was called in from the BBC's "Gardeners' World" television show, who confirmed the iris' vivid blue as an accurate depiction of the real thing.

"It was the best morning of my life," says Emmons, who brought home not only the gold but a deal for the RHS Lindley Library to buy four of her paintings for its permanent collection.

End.


See an example of Jean's work
NW Woodland Wildflowers and Hummingbird Garden

Jean is one of the best contemporary botanical illustrators in the world. Look for her at the next Northwest Flower & Garden Show

Congratulations Jean.

Key Words: Top Ten Words Used to Search for Good Nature

I am playing/paying for online advertising to build more business and awareness for Good Nature Publishing Co. If you run a small business -- what I call a microdot niche business -- you know the number one challenge is invisibility.

Invisibility means people who are natural customers never find out about Good Nature's poster size field guides or meet the great artists I work with here.

One of the biggest fans of Google adwords is also a natural customer of mine-- American Meadows

Ray Allen, CEO, finds thousands of people coming to American Meadows through Google Adwords.

Ray has been in business a lot longer than I have-- and he has built a business on quality and integrity. I admire his success. Mimickry being the highest praise, I went off to our website stats log to see what people type in their browser when they find Good Nature.

Here are the top ten key words for 2005:

1. good nature publishing

2. baseball slider

3. knuckleball

4. deciduous trees

5. pacific northwest map

6. tree posters

7. trees of california

8. www.goodnaturepublishing.com

9. paphiopedilum rothschildianum

10. indian canoes

Isn't that an interesting mix?

What makes me laugh is I feel like Good Nature is mostly about teaching trees -- educational flora and fauna art that is also beautiful. But baseball is a passion as well as plants. (Well- it used to be before corporations got hold of it.)

And philosophically -- I see Good Nature's work as a small part of a counterculture to the technological imperative: Newer, faster, digital world meets slow and careful artists who take months to carefully consider and draw us back to our roots in the natural world. Watercolor and color pencil v Boing Boing Cool! Cool!

Anyway -- last week I went to Yahoo Key Word Search

and typed in key word "sex". Then I typed in "native trees". I invite you to discover what people are really doing on the web with that one search. Let me tell you: they aren't looking for distinctions between conifer and deciduous trees.

I was stunned by the gap -- something like 8,000,000 searchs for all kinds of "sex" and almost 400 for anything to do with "native trees".

So I guess I am in the wrong business?

Oh well. Maybe more people would see Good Nature if I advertise tree sex?

Basta.

A personal pleasure of mine was seeing artist names come up in searches for the first time: Jean Emmons, Kate Nessler and Carol Woodin all got a lot of hits as part of my top 100 key words.

These bright angels are three of the best contemporary botanical artists.

They deserve to be found everywhere we are -- for their art nourishes our souls and informs us of the gifts life has given us --eyes to start with, and humbler skills with brush and paint.

Well-- we'll see what my intermittent work with Google, Yahoo, Adbrite and others lead to. Enough for now.

I am testing interest in a Yellowstone Wolf Biodiversity poster this week. Hope to find some partners to fund design, art work and publishing a painting that tells the amazing story of wolves reintroduction to our world's first park.

Basta .

Timothy

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Cooler planet car



Interesting story in BBC on a great idea: public transit with cars and satellites coordinating service. Way past time we have this in Seattle.

Timothy

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Give Bees a Chance by Matissimo



I told my friend Leslie Newman (graphic designer who makes Good Nature's posters look so good.) about my Give Bees a Chance idea, and she liked it well enough to make a beautiful and eye catching design with her own illustration.

Want to see more? Check out Matissimo's Give Bees a Chance page

She has applied this cool art to t shirts, bumperstickers, coffee mugs and more.

Something for everyone!

Best fishes,

Timothy