The thing that struck me from my very first call with Kara is how you can feel her passion and creativity when she speaks. Kara is the kind of person who seems like she can talk to just about anyone and make it look easy. In part, I believe this is due to Kara’s wonder for the world and interest in exploring it all. Through her drawings, Kara depicts the creatures we encounter daily and the ones we dream of seeing, giving each critter the spotlight it deserves. What I appreciate most about Kara is her ability to craft beautiful, highly detailed, anatomically accurate illustrations and still find the time to paint Garfield as a cowboy or the flora and fauna from our favorite video games like Legend of Zelda.
It is for these reasons that we were thrilled to have the chance to collaborate with Kara on our Corpus Christi Tee, celebrating the diversity of wildlife at the site. It was a happy surprise to find out that Kara grew up in Texas, making her the perfect person to represent our Texas HawkWatch. This design highlights the unique raptors you can see at our southernmost site and fan favorites like the local javelinas. You can grab your own on our store here:Â https://hawkwatch-international.myshopify.com/products/corpus-christi-hawkwatch-tee
What inspires your work?
Beyond animals and nature in general, children’s book illustration has always been my largest inspiration. I can spend hours poring over children’s picture books at libraries/bookstores. Beatrix Potter comes top of mind for not only building the Peter Rabbit universe but also because she was a very accomplished scientific illustrator, activist, and conservationist.Â
What do you do outside of your art?
If I am not drawing, you can find me playing video games, listening to podcasts, turning over rocks to look at bugs, hanging out with my animals, trying to befriend stray cats. I also recently have gotten very into mountain biking.Â
This blog was written by Sammy Riccio, HWI’s Donor Engagement Coordinator. You can learn more about Sammy here.
