Hidden Walnuts

Description: Louis Agassiz Fuertes' 1919 Oven Bird from "Melody the Wood Thrush, Teacher the Oven Bird." Surprisingly, ovenbirds are a type of warbler, and not a type of ovenbird! They are known as Ovenbirds because they make a domed ground nest that sort of looks like an oven.

Description: An excerpt from John Clare's poem "The Thrush's Nest" with a wood thrush from Louis Agassiz Fuertes.

Description: Louis Agassiz Fuertes' 1919 "Melody the Wood Thrush, Teacher the Oven Bird." We have some thrushes at our house that make us smile - one likes to hop right up to the lens of our trailcam.

Description: French artist Félix Bracquemond'w 1881 sketches "The Swallows." We enjoy watching swallows as they swoop and dive for insects, and Bracquemond captured these movements beautifully.

Description: The nuthatch from American artist Louis Agassiz Fuertes's 1858 "Chickadee,White-Breasted Nuthatch". We love to watch nuthatches hop up and down tree trunks.

Description: Hey, stable genius! Show off this cool horse by Polish artist Jan Matejko - from his 1883 "Sketch of horse’s head for the painting 'Zamoyski at Byczyna'"

Description: For all the nonstop winners out there who love 80s style, set the stage wherever you go.

Description: The player is from "De Berthon" by French artist Louis de Fleurac.

Description: Vroom! A line-only version of French artist Gaston Marechaux's 1935 race car, Pl. 46 of "Bon Voyage." White lines only - please choose dark colors.

Description: For all the nonstop winners out there, set the stage wherever you go.

Description: A British artists known only as "Ellen W." created an album of cut-paper flowers in about 1835. This is her arrangement of daffodils, geraniums, and forget-me-nots.

Description: We like the crisp outlines of the stern-faced stork and the absurdity of the supplicant crowned frog, as well as the bold colors that immediately draw the eye to the characters. This is plate 8 of the 1909 book "Komische Käuze" (Strange [Funny] Characters), illustrated by German artist Elisabeth Schellbach.

Description: We love the eyes on this bird! This great graphic design is from an unknown artist at the Wiener Werkstätte ("Vienna Workshop"). The workshop was in operation from 1903-1932, and it brought great design and style to utilitarian objects.

Description: The image of James Madison is from American artist Thomas Sully's 1809 portrait and the James Madison quote is from Federalist No. 51.

Description: We like the excitement about industrial advancements in Grif Teller's "Giant Conquerers of Space and Time." Teller created this for the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1931, and we imagine the optimistic feeling about what can be accomplished was probably very welcome during the difficult economic times.

Description: The idea of a kingfisher as a professor-type, wearing a pince-nez, equipped with a fishing pole and bobber made us smile. We also like the friendly frog approaching in the lower right. This is another cheerful illustration from the wonderful German artist Elisabeth Schellbach's 1909 illustrations in "Komische Käuze" (Strange [Funny] Characters, plate 5).

Description: This painting makes us think of warm sunshine and fresh air. We love the oranges, greens, and blues and the interesting forms of the trees. Armand Guillaumin painted "La Baie D’agay Et Le Sémaphore" in 1922. Guillaumin was freinds with and painted alongside many of the better-known impressionists such as Cezanne and Pissarro.

Description: Finnish artist Hugo Simberg's "Auringon noustessa" (When the Sun Rises), dated from 1893 - 1900.

Description: This woodcock is from American artist Louis Agassiz Fuertes' 1919 painting. What a cool bird.

Description: Max Lieberman's 1913 painting "Liegender Spaniel" (Lying Spaniel). We like the way Lieberman showed the spaniel, with kind eyes but also ready to go whenever he might be needed.

Description: We love the watchful eyes of the borzois in Kapstein's "Portrait zweier Borzoj-Hunde" (Portrait of Two Borzoi Dogs"). Their alert but gentle expressions make us wonder what they are thinking about.

Description: We like what Calvin Coolidge had to say about about persistence - it is greater than talent, genius, or education. "Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On!' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race." The image is Samuel Johnson Woolf's 1923 charcoal and chalk drawing.

Description: We love the expression in the Scottie's eyes, and we are really impressed with how much personality Wardle could capture in this portrait. This is one cool dog.

Description: The open road with a few trees here and there reminds us of driving through the country and feeling free. American artist Arthur Wesley Dow created this color woodcut sometime between 1898-1912.

Description: This handsome terrier profile was created by Francis Picabia between 1923-27. We love the classic terrier beard, button ears, and intensely focused eyes.

Description: Get your Hidden Walnuts merch here.

Description: We love the character that shows through this pup's expression. French artist Joyau exhibited this color wood engraving at the 1897 Salon de la Société nationale des Beaux-Arts. He was influenced by Japanese woodblock prints.

Description: Verneuil's wallpaper frieze "Cerfs et biches" (Stags and does) from 1897. We love the layers of curving, intertwining lines and the organic color palette. The stag's antlers also look very cool in front of the tree.

Description: Blasted buckthorn! I drew this because even though sometimes getting rid of buckthorn can feel like a Sisyphean task, I still grab my weed wrench and yank out what I can a few days a year.

Description: At Hidden Walnuts, squirrel illustrations always catch our eye. We really like this art nouveau wallpaper (and borders) from French designer Maurice Pillard Verneuil's " L'animal dans la décoration" (Animals in Decoration). They are dated 1897, and the designs are of: Swifts and honeysuckle, border. Squirrels and hazel tree, wallpaper. Birds and flowering hazel tree, border.

Description: We love the way Holzel used color and line. He used wax crayon to create this piece, and it reminds us a little of a stained glass window.

Description: Vasnetsov's beautiful study of Mary with baby Jesus. We love the way the blue background leaves the viewer free to focus on their faces. The expressions really draw us in, making us wonder what Mary is thinking about as she holds Jesus close to her in a protective embrace.

Description: Designed for the fierce and fabulous female pickleball player.

Description: James Tissot's "Our Lord Jesus Christ," which is one of his many depictions from the Bible. This painting dates from 1886-1894.

Description: It's hard to beat an afternoon with a book and a cozy dog.

Description: One of Czech artist Josef Čapek's illustrations from The Adventures of Puss and Pup (Povídání o Pejskovi a Kočičce), also known as I Had a Dog and a Cat. Dated 1928