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Laughing Mantis Studio

Art inspired by biology, created by a biologist

  • The Art of Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D.
    • Woodworking
    • Stained Glass
    • Pastel Pencil
    • Graphite Pencil
    • 3D Digital Art
    • 2D Digital Art
    • Paintings
    • Sculptures
    • Pet Portraits
    • Jewelry & Hangers
    • 3D Animation
    • Ocean Invasion Series
    • Science Art
  • Shop
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“The Watcher” (Common Grackle), Daniel D. Brown, 2014, Pastel Pencil

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  • “The Watcher” (Common Grackle), Daniel D. Brown, 2014, Pastel Pencil

This is a common grackle male I spotted in Squirrel Hill (Pittsburgh, PA).

Pastel Pencil, 8×10″ on Pastelmat. You can buy prints of this piece HERE.

"The Watcher"
“The Watcher”
Detail
Detail
Detail
Detail

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June 4, 2014January 15, 2018 LaughingMantisPastelanimal, art, bird, creature, Daniel Brown, Daniel D. Brown, drawing, Eugene Scheiffelin, European starling, painting, panpastel, pastel, pastelmat, Shakespeare, sketch, wildlife

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You can see my frequently-updated works-in-progress by following @laughingmantisstudio

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My wife @tam_a_ryn wanted a little tea tray for he My wife @tam_a_ryn wanted a little tea tray for her mental health therapy private practice, customized for her kettle. So I grabbed some scrap cherry and walnut cutoffs and got to work. Design was basically all hers. I came up with the basic concept, showed it to her, and she went “No. Not like that. Like this.” The customer is always right! I did surprise her by burning her logo into it (badly, by hand. But I’m happy with it for my skill level). … #woodworking #teatray #mentalhealth #mindfulness #homedecor #woodburning #madeinpittsburgh
Nuthatch & Chickadee. Handmade wall art to adorn Nuthatch & Chickadee. Handmade wall art to adorn our bedroom wall along with my previously made song sparrow. All cut by hand with a scrollsaw and chisel from a variety of wood species. No paint or stain. See my previous posts for more details and the story highlight on my profile, which documented the whole process. … #woodworking #scrollsaw #scrollsawart #woodintarsia #intarsia #birdsofinstagram #chickadee #nuthatch #homedecor #madeinpittsburgh #pittsburghartist
When it’s cold and snowy outside, my happy place When it’s cold and snowy outside, my happy place is huddling in front of my tiny space heater in the garage, slowly shaping wooden bird pieces one by one, and listening to @nickofferman wax poetic on the pleasures of nature, the outdoors, and using one’s own hands to make things. … #woodworking #scrollsawart #woodcarving #birdsofinstagram #nuthatch #chickadee #woodintarsia #nickofferman #nickoffermanwoodshop @offermanwoodshop
New project in the works: Nuthatch and Chickadee! New project in the works: Nuthatch and Chickadee! I made a song sparrow (named “Freddie Chirpury”) perched on a musical clef last year (swipe). He sits on one side of our window. I decided to make a piece to sit on the other side. I’ve always loved nuthatches (my favorite song bird) and chickadees. The little nasal “honks” nuthatches make when they’re bopping around walking up and down trees like geckos is one of my favorite sounds. Swipe for all 13 wood species I’m using for the birds. … #woodworking #intarsia #birdart #nuthatch #chickadee #scrollsaw #scrollsawart #homedecor #woodworkersofinstagram #madeinpittsburgh #pittsburghartist
I needed a tiny shelf to get our router and Ethern I needed a tiny shelf to get our router and Ethernet switch off the Lair floor. And to move some of the random crap that’s accumulated on my Rebel Table (swipe). I decided to use up these little yew slabs I’ve had sitting for years (yew is probably the most toxic wood most woodworkers will come across. It’s beautiful but I don’t like working with it). Cherry legs. No plans and little thought - this is mostly a function over form project. I just sorta slapped it quickly together. 3 legs because our basement floor is wonky (3 legs are more stable than 4!) Note the shiny gold Yoda bust from my buddy @knucklenobility. … #tiredofhashtags
Well, 2022 was probably the least productive year Well, 2022 was probably the least productive year I’ve had in terms of output since I started woodworking. But it’s been the most productive year I’ve had in my real life career. Such is the way it goes and I consider that side of my life a win right now! It definitely took some mental effort to get myself into the shop much of the time. But I think most people can commiserate to varying degrees on the challenges of the last year (or 3). Overall, I’m pretty happy with the things I did make. Several of the projects I chose were incredibly looooong, which reduced the number of projects I took on. I mean Chewbacca alone took like 14 weeks! My R2-D2 lamp was almost 2 months. Silly? Absolutely. But this is how I choose to cope with thinking about cancer and death day after day after year after year (because I’m a breast cancer researcher who deals with tumors weekly). Also, I went from zero glass-working experience to making two Tiffany-style lamps for our house, which both make me happy every day. Learning new skills is always fun. 15 of the 17 main projects I completed were gifts for others (including signs for 4 friends who earned their Ph.D.s this year!), so I feel pretty good about that. Finally and most importantly, I’m thankful every day to have such an amazing and supportive wife. Most of what I do is really just to try to impress her. Now let’s get through this winter and go see some beach! @tam_a_ryn … #scrollsaw #woodworking #intarsia #yearinreview2022
Congratulations Dr. Laura Savariau (@laurettesav95 Congratulations Dr. Laura Savariau (@laurettesav95)! Another friend gets her PhD and a hand-made plaque! If you look closely, you may find a tiny swimmer. I wish you nothing but the happiest of futures and successful upcoming nuptials! Sign made of jatoba (also known as courbaril, West Indian locust, Brazilian copal, amami-gum, or Brazilian cherry), ambrosia maple (maple spalted by a fungus introduced by the ambrosia beetle), and black walnut. … #phinished #phdlife #graduationgift #handmadesigns #woodworking
Chewbacca! What a wookie! Ever since I made “Pun Chewbacca! What a wookie! Ever since I made “Punch it!” a few years ago (piece showing Han and Chewy on the falcon with programmed lighting and sound), I knew that I wanted to make a more complete “solo” Chewy some day. I decided to go with sequel trilogy Chewy since the previous piece was from the original trilogy. His “aged” fur is also a bit more dynamic, which I figured would play well with multiple woods. I designed this piece by combining a couple different photos of @joonassuotamo posing as Chewy on magazine covers. The design alone took quite a few hours. However, when I started this project I did NOT know it was gonna take me a full 14 weeks - and I’m glad I didn’t, as I almost certainly would have said “e chu ta that!” This work came out to 653 individual pieces of wood, all cut by hand on a scrollsaw. I have to give a huge shoutout to all my @saburrtooth rotary bits - I could not have shaped and sanded all these pieces without them. All the wood is natural color, except for the irises of his eyes, which were stained blue. 16 species of wood were used (below), some of which were interesting reclamations, such as the 1970s era African stinkwood chair I’ve mentioned in several projects (it’s an endangered tree and no longer available). A lot of the wood was scavenged and milled by me from firewood and storm-felled trees. All in all, I’m incredibly pleased with how it turned out. It was impossible to tell beforehand if the color/wood choices were going to actually look alright in the end - there were just too many pieces to fully visualize it. It isn’t perfect, but I think it does the job! Not for sale and I don’t take commissions! Woods: catalpa, walnut, elm, mahogany, stinkwood, wenge, holly, ebony, limba, bloodwood, purpleheart, yellowheart, chakte viga, maple, rosewood, leopardwood … #woodworking #scrollsawart #starwars #starwarsfanart #lucasfilms #disney #chewbacca #chewy #maytheforcebewithyou #woodsculpture #intarsia #woodintarsia #wookie @lucasfilm @starwars
Chewy’s FINALLY getting the hair/fur treatment h Chewy’s FINALLY getting the hair/fur treatment he’s desperately needed! Applying some @odiesoil before he gets glued to the backer along with the sky and falcon. Based on a couple different photos of @joonassuotamo in costume. Just his fur is made from (going from lighter to darker): catalpa, elm, mahogany, African stinkwood, walnut, and wenge. With a little black limba, holly, honey locust and ebony around his eyes and mouth. The bandolier is bloodwood, maple, spalted holly, and black limba. … #maytheforcebewithyou #chewbacca #starwars #starwarsfanart #chewy #woodworking #woodsculpture #woodintarsia #intarsia #scrollsaw #scrollsawart
Chewy’s getting there. It’s only taken me 12 w Chewy’s getting there. It’s only taken me 12 weeks so far. This is why I laugh when someone says “you should totally sell these! You’d make a killing!” 😂 … #scrollsaw #scrollsawart #woodworking #woodcarving #starwars #maytheforcebewithyou #chewbacca #fanart #artistsofinstagram
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