Julie Ann Collier
I grew up in Leverett and attended Leverett Elementary back when penmanship was part of the curriculum. The highly detailed pen & ink drawings began at Amherst High when an biology teacher required detailed lab drawings. I was entranced by the stippled technique that could produce great details. Obsession with detail has found an outlet. The lab drawings morphed into animal portraits especially then exclusively raptors portraits, the result were bad since I didn’t understand raptors. To remedy the situation, I visited a local falconer just to draw his birds or so I thought. Then came epiphany number 2- I found that I wanted to do more than just draw the raptors, I wanted to handle them as well. I became a licensed falconer, then a raptor rehabilitator, and finally a lecture on birds of prey. My drawings are pen and ink for precise detail with an overlay of colored pencil for softness. I hope that they capture the individuality of each bird because they are portraits.
