About

Alexandra (Ally) Mikel is an artist and naturalist in Portland, Oregon. She illustrates birds, sea life and the creatures of myth and folklore in ink and watercolor, starting from close looking: the set of a feather, the drift of kelp, the face of something that only lives in stories.

Every October she draws for Inktober, one ink piece a day, and many of the pieces here began that way.

With her mom, scientific illustrator Gina Mikel, she runs GopherPop, where Ally and Gina Mikel turn their art into prints, tees, mugs and gifts for naturalists. Gina's own work is at scientificillustrator.com.