Drawn to Birds

Drawn to Birds by Jenny deFouw Geuder is the perfect coffee table book for birders and nature lovers. Naturalist, watercolorist, and debut author Jenny deFouw Geuder combines her vast knowledge of birds, wildflowers, and nature with her artistic expertise to create a book like no other. Drawn to Birds presents more than 120 beautiful watercolor paintings, along with Jenny’s fascinating insights—handwritten to bring unique appeal to each page.

Drawn to Birds begins with an introduction to bird anatomy, along with details about nests, eggs, and migration.

From there, more than 50 different bird species are showcased, with the watercolors divided into groups like backyard birds, raptors, and wetland birds. As an added bonus, there’s a section dedicated to insects and wildflowers.

The author’s goal is to inspire you to try your own hand at being a naturalist, which is about more than simply stopping to smell the flowers. It’s about observation and making a record—pausing to notice the shapes, colors, and patterns around you. Jenny also includes step-by-step guides for drawing, painting, and inking your own pictures.

Extra pages for journaling and sketching make this book a keepsake to cherish forever. If you enjoy birding, gardening, or the great outdoors, Drawn to Birds belongs in your collection. Get a copy for yourself, and give one as a gift!

About the Author: With Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Art Education, Jenny deFouw Geuder is an artist and educator in Michigan who has always loved nature and being outdoors.

Jenny especially loves gardening and hiking; over time, she began sketching the objects she discovered outside. She bought a bird feeder and was charmed by its many visitors. That one bird feeder grew to two, four, and now about eight—along with multiple bird baths!

As she immersed herself in bird-watching, she started fine-tuning her garden by introducing native plants that benefited birds and other wildlife.

Jenny has taught art at the middle-school level for 16 years, and she always includes a lesson and project based on the famous prints of John James Audubon. While emulating his work at home, Jenny began painting her backyard finds—everything from leaves and flowers to birds—and it soon became one of her favorite pastimes. She found herself constantly learning more about the subjects of her paintings and started taking notes about her observations. That process led naturally to this sketchbook. 

Jenny lives in the country with her husband, two small boys, a dog, five cats, a hedgehog, chickens, and occasionally two ponies. She spends most of her summers at a rustic log cabin on a lake in northern Michigan, where she hikes, fishes, and enjoys the natural beauty of the area.

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