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The Best of 2025

Winter cabin illustration by Terri Wilhelm

December 31, 2025January 1, 2026 | terriaw

I made so much art this year that I adore! I created the art I want to see out there. Cheers to the best of 2025!

I completed six collage illustrations of six different habitats – marsh, shoreline, wetlands, nature preserve, under the sea and tree canopy. I fell in love with doing these collages, which is a technique new to me. It’s fun to dream up a habitat and fill it with flora and fauna. My goal is to complete six more habitats in 2026 so I will have a total of 12 and then hopefully hold an art exhibition.

I also created a lot of other art that I love. I honed in on my focus and specialty – to specialize in storybook art with whimsical, handcrafted charm reminiscent of children’s book illustrations or educational posters. With my love for observing the natural world, I’ve been able to translate everyday moments—flowers in bloom, birds in the yard, shoreline scenes, and afternoon hikes in the woods—into whimsical sketches, watercolor illustrations and hand-lettered pages.

I am so grateful I got to travel to Naples, Florida earlier this year for some rest and relaxation and one of my favorite things – beach time. I also got to spend time at the lake house on Lake Michigan in Door County. And we had a new deck built in our backyard, where we love to hang out.

Many local micro adventures brought me great joy!

I have a couple specific goals for the new year:

I want to finish the artwork and publish two picture books. I already have the storyboarding done so I just need to illustrate the final artwork. I have character designs and briefs for at least three more stories but I really want to accomplish this goal so my target is two books.

I want to illustration six more collage illustrations of more habitats so I have a set of 12 total. Then I want to show them off all together at an exhibition.

Cheers to more art and more adventure in 2026!

Deer on the Run

December 19, 2025 | terriaw

I painted a few quick illustrations lately inspired by the deer you see grazing in the snowy cornfields at dusk in winter.

I love doing this landscape orientation. I cut a piece of Fabriano Studio Watercolor hot press paper size 11 inch by 14 inch in half, taped off the edges for a nice clean frame and painted a dusk background.

Then I worked from the back to the front, painting and penciling in the silhouette of tree along the horizon line, added some remnants of corn stalks in the background, added several deer on the run and filled in with more scrappy piece of leftover cornstalks up to the foreground.

I also made a couple smaller pieces using the Hahnemuhle Agave Watercolor pads whihc com in 8 x 10.5 cm. Such a fun quick size to work on!

I still have the other half to paint a wintery scene on, maybe reindeer grazing in a snowy field or squirrels chasing.

Winter Woodlands Series

Winter woodland cardinals by Terri Wilhelm

December 8, 2025 | terriaw

I was inspired to illustrate this series of winter woodland scenes after we got a big snow storm recently.

Winter wonderful illustrations by Terri Wilhelm

I love it when you look out the window and notice that one tiny spot of red, your heart skips a beat and you realize you’re seeing a cardinal out there in the winter wonderland.

Winter wonderful cardinals by Terri Wilhelm

I don’t see bunnies too often in winter – I know, because they are out and about at night and they tend to hang out in their burrows. So I wanted to capture that essence with the warm glow of a sunrise in this next piece.

I love it when it snows at night and the snow frosts every little branch on every twig and all the boughs on the evergreen trees. I’ve never seen a snowy owl in real life but we’ve had the great horned owls visiting our backyard lately, so they inspired me to add a little sparkle and magic.

I’m hoping to turn these watercolor illustrations into greeting cards in my shop so keep an eye out for those new listings to show up.

First Snow Bunnies

December 2, 2025December 2, 2025 | terriaw

I recently illustrated this trio of bunnies sitting in the snow, gazing upward toward a deep blue, snowy night sky. I envisioned a peaceful and magical scene, as if the rabbits are watching their first snowfall or marveling at something shimmering above them.

Ideas almost always start out with a pencil sketch which leads to a watercolor illustration. I painted this one on Fluid 6 inch x 8 inch hot press paper.

Each bunny has its own subtle personality—one looking up with its head tilted, one sitting squarely forward, and another posed more upright. Sparse winter plants on either side frame the trio, adding a touch of quiet wilderness.

I turned the watercolor illustration into a greeting card and postcard—a warm, whimsical, and serene winter feel—perfect for a holiday greeting, a winter note, or any message meant to bring a sense of calm wonder.

Stop by my Zazzle shop to check them out: Greeting Cards and Postcards!

We got over 10 inches of snow lately so I’m in the mood for winter illustrations. Stay tuned for more sweet storybook charm!

Tree Canopy Illustration

October 8, 2025 | terriaw

Check out my new habitat illustration – Tree Canopy! I wanted to evoke a tree canopy teeming with wildlife in a playful and artistic way.

I did this illustration similar to my previous ones, with a watercolor background that is a gentle gradient of blues to a warm glow, depicting the sky at dawn or dusk.

And then I added lots of collage elements, beginning with a cut out of a gnarly oak tree canopy.

The big oak tree is centrally placed, with thick, textured brown branches extending outward and upward, with clusters of green oak leaves and acorns and touches of fall color here are there.

Throughout the tree, you will also find woodpeckers, a blue jay, Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal, several crows, a hawk, and owl, a squirrel or two, a chipmunk, even a raccoon and squirrel hiding in their hollows. Two monarch butterflies flutter by.

This piece is three-dimensional full of detailed flora and fauna, beautifully captures the rich ecosystem of a temperate forest during fall, inviting viewers to explore every corner of the scene. Similar to the rest of my series of habitats, this composition balances naturalistic detail and biodiversity with a whimsical, storybook-like charm.

I encourage you to visit my other habitats in this series:

Under the Sea, The Nature Preserve, Marsh, Shoreline, Marsh Wetlands, Stargazing and Woodlands Map.

Under the Sea Illustration

August 19, 2025August 22, 2025 | terriaw

Check out my new habitat illustration – Under the Sea! I wanted to evoke a sense of the rich biodiversity of coral reefs and ocean life in a playful and artistic way.

I did this illustration similar to my previous ones, with a watercolor background that is a gentle gradient of blues, depicting the sea from shallow to deeper water as it moves downward. And then I added collage elements.

I love the lone seagull floating at the surface of the water with three more circling in the distance.

I added lots of marine life, from a sea turtle swimming peacefully, to a shark lurking in the background, to an octopus among the coral reef and sea plants to a variety of fish in different sizes, shapes and colors scattered through.

The ocean floor has a variety of red, yellow, purple, and pink hues, enhancing the diversity of the ecosystem, with long swaying seaweed framing the corner.

Another whimsical, colorful, and educational illustration, for educational purposes or storybook art.

I almost forgot to tell you that I used fluorescent paint in a few spots and this is what the original looks like when shining a blue light on it!

Check out my other habitats in this series: The Nature Preserve, Marsh, Shoreline, Marsh Wetlands, Stargazing and Woodlands Map.

The Nature Preserve illustration

Nature Preserve Illustration by Terri Wilhelm

August 19, 2025August 19, 2025 | terriaw

Welcome to another habitat illustration in my series!

This illustration of a nature preserve—created using a blend of watercolor, colored pencils and collage techniques—presents a vibrant, lively forest scene full of detailed textures and diverse wildlife. This was inspired by a recent hike I did in The Ridges Sanctuary in Baileys Harbor where we saw these wonderful creatures in this beautiful habitat!

The scene centers around a gently winding stream that flows around and through lush green meadows and a dense forest in the background with flora and fauna collage elements giving a slightly raised, 3D effect.

I included a mix of conifers and deciduous trees, added grasses, small shrubs, grasses, flowers and mushrooms to fill the forest floor. I also added rocks and ripples in the stream to create depth, a turtle hanging out on a fallen log and a frog leaping.

The composition is teeming with wildlife, each animal individually cut and pasted, giving a slightly raised, three-dimensional effect, from an egret wading at the water’s edge, a deer standing nearby, a mink scurrying across a fallen log covered with mushrooms, two wild turkey roaming a grassy area, a blue jay in flight, a woodpecker clinging to a tree, a monarch and dragonfly hovering above the water, and owl perched high in the tree.

The soft watercolor textures, three-dimensional collage elements, flowing transitions and natural color palette create a whimsical, handcrafted charm reminiscent of children’s book illustrations or educational posters.

I wanted to convey a scene of layered details of a healthy, diverse forest habitat, leaving the viewer with a peaceful experience to discover this ecological richness.

Check out my other illustrations in this eco system series: Woodlands Map, Marsh Wetlands, Shoreline, and a Marsh.

Stay tuned for the next one in this series!

Greetings from Wisconsin!

Wisconsin Kayaking postcard by Terri Wilhelm

July 27, 2025 | terriaw

I’ve wanted to illustrate a set of postcards from Wisconsin to highlight the beautiful outdoors and seasons we have. This set of four showcases the summer season. I used watercolor paper, watercolor paints and colored pencils for the details.

I started with our fabulous waterways and woods.

Wisconsin trail postcard by Terri Wilhelm

Hiking and kayaking are two of my favorite things to do.

Wisconsin Devils Lake postcard by Terri Wilhelm

We get a full four seasons here so I’ll have to paint another set highlighting fall and winter. Happy summer all!

Marsh Illustration

July 14, 2025July 13, 2025 | terriaw

I’m excited to share another new illustration piece to add to my portfolio and the next one in my series of habitats – it’s a Marsh Collage!

Instead of doing a sketch first, I made a tiny version using the Hahnemuhle Agave Watercolor 8 x 10.5 cm pad as an experiment, just playing around one night.

I liked it so much I decided to make a larger version. I

illustrated the marsh background on a large piece of Arches hot press watercolor paper with watercolor and colored pencils.

And then I illustrated the wildlife on separate paper, cut them out and taped them into the landscape with foam double-sided tape to give them a more 3D look.

Click here to check out my first one – a marsh wetlands and here to see my second one in the series – the shoreline. Stay tuned for the next habitat illustration in this series.

Contact me to hire me for similar work!

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