Wes & Rachelle Siegrist

"Tiny Treasures of the Natural World"

Monthly Newsletters

PAINTINGS: African Birds Birds of Prey Butterflies Florals Gamebirds Landscapes Mammals Portraits Reptiles Songbirds Reproductions HIGHLIGHTS: Biography Exhibits Statements Resumes Galleries Publications Newsletters Information about Miniatures Awards and Honors Framed Samples Sitemap: Many Surprises! CONTACT: Order Testimonials from Collectors Email us! - siegrist@artofwildlife.com
	Rachelle with her parents atop Andrews Bald in the Smokies. We hiked up there with her family to celebrate her mother's birthday. Sally thought the view was well worth the hike. The family, from Florida, didn't know quite what to think of the temperature in the low 40's when we started the hike. At over 6,000 feet the high elevation hikes can be a welcome relief on warm days for us.	Wes gets in close to photograph salamanders (his personal version of the Croc Hunter). There are more species of salamanders in the Smokies than the rest of the United States combined and they're always pretty easy to find by the waterfalls. Here Wes is at the base of Rainbow Falls where we hiked to celebrate Rachelle's birthday.
	News: * Wes's "Sunlit Gray Jay" was juried into the Arts for the Parks Mini 100 Exhibition. We're still adding more shows, awards etc. to our schedule and resumes. (See the awards and exhibits pages for more details) * We'll be painting constantly now over the summer months and adding new work to the website after it dries enough to put in the scanner.
	Rachelle's dad, Larry, proves that patience pays off with the rewards of some great black bear photographs. We had encountered this yearling earlier on the trail and fortunately for us he made a wide swing and came back across the trail further up the mountain where we were all sitting. (the bear looks much larger in the photo than it was in life)	Rachelle shoots photos of a dung beetle on a trail in the Smokies. She patiently waited 15 minutes for it to get into just the right light and position for the shot she wanted.
	Interesting Updates: * On the easels: Rachelle is currently working on a floral and honey bee composition and Wes hopes to start a horse mini soon. There's been an extraordinary amount of paperwork lately with the shows and sales.
	Rachelle,Tom and Pat Brooks, and Luke and Coleen Buck pose beside Shosone Falls in the Bridger Teton National Forest in Wyoming. We had a wonderful week at the 5th Annual Susan K. Black Foundation's Workshop and Conference (SKB) in Dubois, reminiscing with them about our 15+ years of doing art shows together.	Wes joins fellow SKB instructors Andrew Denman, John Seerey Lester, Julie Jeppsen, Heiner Hertling, Lee Cable, Greg Beecham, Wanda Mumm and John Phelps in the always fun quick draw event. Yes, since it took Wes nearly all week to finish his painting he started early!
	Our Adventures: * Wyoming was great fun and now that we're back home we're entertaining more friends and collectors that are staying with us this month. * Recent memory makers: Hikes to Andrews Bald, Rainbow Falls in the Smokies and the river trail in Wyoming. We also had a great time in Dollywood with Rachelle's family and are looking forward to several hikes this month and a short vacation to Indiana to visit with Wes's family.
	Wes and the other artists draw and paint the live models during the workshop in Wyoming. Our "cup of tea" is still sitting inside the studio painting. We much prefer to spend our time outdoors hiking and exploring the local flora and fauna.	Rachelle and our neighbor, Amy Weitlisbach, do the unthinkable and each eat a deep fried meal worm. You can tell from their faces that it's now their favorite snack and they both agree they like the worms more than chocolate.
	Critter Encounters: * Yard Bird List: 90 species. * Baby Blues, our orphaned baby Eastern Bluebird, returned for about a week for the free handouts of mealworms. The storybook ending happened when his mother returned to the yard to check out the nest box. It's hard to say if baby, mommy or Rachelle was the happiest! * We've been excited this year to have an anole in the yard. They're a rare lizard here in the Smokies and bring back fond memories of the hundreds that inhabited our yard in Florida. * Look for new critter paintings to be posted to the website soon from our trip to Wyoming and several from our hikes here in the Park.
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