John Sill

John was born in the coastal plain of North Carolina in the small town of St. Pauls. He received a BS in wildlife biology from N.C. State University. John got his love of birds from his Aunt Della who had an abundant interest in all of creation. His father, a talented watercolor artist and an able naturalist, gave him instruction and encouraged him in his career.

John has worked as a freelance artist and illustrator since 1971. His art has been exhibited in highly acclaimed shows and appeared in a number of books and magazines. John has been the illustrator for the Bird Identification Calendar published by the Massachusetts Audubon Society since the project began in 1980. He is the instructor in the Field Sketching and Bird Illustration Workshop for the Institute for Field Ornithology sponsored by the American Birding Association. While the subjects of most of John’s work have been birds (both real and imagined), his illustrations for his wife Cathryn’s much awarded “About” series of children’s books have expanded his art to include other wildlife.

You can read more about John Sill and his work at his website www.johnsill.com

Products by John Sill

The following products include artwork and/or writing by John Sill. Most products are a collaboration of the wonderful artists and writers who have contributed to Acorn Designs over the years.

Showing 33–48 of 58 results

Kingfishers Lokta Card Acorn Designs

Kingfishers Lokta Card

$5.00$8.00

Ranging over most of the U.S. and Canada as far north as Alaska, the belted kingfisher lives wherever there is water; seacoasts, brooks, creeks, lakes, ponds or mountain streams. Kingfishers are chunky, compact birds with a shaggy crest and long pointed bills. They are one of the few birds where the female is more colorful…

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Kingfisher artwork on Small Journal in Black for Acorn Designs

Kingfishers Small Journal

$20.00

Ranging over most of the U.S. and Canada as far north as Alaska, the belted kingfisher lives wherever there is water—seacoasts, brooks, creeks, lakes, ponds or mountain streams. Kingfishers are chunky, compact birds with a shaggy crest and long pointed bills. They are one of the few birds where the female is more colorful than…

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Marsh Wren Lokta Card Acorn Designs

Marsh Wren Lokta Card

$5.00$8.00

The tiny, energetic marsh wren inhabits dense cattails and bulrushes in freshwater and brackish marshes throughout North America. A striped back and bold white eyebrows distinguish this species from other wrens. The songs of the male wren bubble up from the marshlands by day and often at night as he clings to vegetation, with his…

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PJ72

Marsh Wren Small Journal

$20.00

The tiny, energetic marsh wren inhabits dense cattails and bulrushes in freshwater and brackish marshes throughout North America. A striped back and bold white eyebrows distinguish this species from other wrens. The songs of the male wren bubble up from the marshlands by day and often at night as he clings to vegetation, with his…

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Osprey Journal

$29.00

Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) are striking birds with contrasting dark and light feathers, bright yellow eyes and a distinctive brown eye stripe. Given the nickname Fish Hawk, they are specialized in every way for fishing and need two requirements to survive: open water and a strong tree or platform for nesting. Ospreys’ feet have pads with…

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Osprey Notecard Acorn Designs

Osprey Notecard

$3.00$24.00

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) Ospreys are striking birds with contrasting dark and light feathers, bright yellow eyes and a distinctive brown eye stripe. Given the nickname Fish Hawk, they are specialized in every way for fishing and need two requirements to survive: open water and a strong tree or platform for nesting. Ospreys’ feet have pads…

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PJ52

Osprey Small Journal

$20.00

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) Ospreys are striking birds with contrasting dark and light feathers, bright yellow eyes, and a distinctive brown eye stripe. Given the nickname “Fish Hawk,” they are specialized in every way for fishing and need two requirements to survive: open water and a strong tree for nesting. In the 1960’s, ospreys were almost…

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NC250

Oystercatcher Notecard

$3.00$24.00

American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) Chances are you’ll hear the noisy American oystercatcher before you see it, and once it catches your attention with its shrill Bleep? call, and flashy dark and light plumage, you’ll want to take a closer look. This comical shorebird flaunts a black head, brown and white body, long pink legs, heavy…

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Piping Plover Lokta Card Acorn Designs

Piping Plover Lokta Card

$5.00$8.00

The piping plover is a small shorebird named for its mellow, melodious whistle, a clear peep,peep, peep peep-lo. Compactly built with a short bill, large eyes and rounded head, this sand-colored plover has bright orange legs and a single black breast band. Once fairly common along Atlantic coast beaches, Great Lakes beaches and interior river…

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Cover image - Piping Plover Mini Journal

Piping Plover Mini Journal

$8.50

The piping plover is a small shorebird named for its mellow, melodious whistle. Compactly built with a short bill, large eyes and rounded head, this sand-colored plover has bright orange legs and a single black breast band. They are most often seen running in short starts and stops, patrolling the beach, alert for any movement.…

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Piping Plover Notecard Acorn Designs

Piping Plover Notecard

$3.00$24.00

Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) The piping plover is a small shorebird named for its mellow, melodious whistle, a clear peep,peep, peep peep-lo. Compactly built with a short bill, large eyes and rounded head, this sand-colored plover has bright orange legs and a single black breast band. Once fairly common along Atlantic coast beaches, Great Lakes…

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PJ63

Piping Plover Small Journal

$20.00

Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) The piping plover is a small shorebird named for its mellow, melodious whistle, a clear peep, peep, peep peep-lo. Compactly built with a short bill, large eyes and rounded head, this sand-colored plover has bright orange legs and a single black breast band. Once fairly common along Atlantic coast beaches, Great…

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Spoonbill Lokta Card Acorn Designs

Roseate Spoonbill Lokta Card

$5.00$8.00

The roseate spoonbill resembles a cartoon caricature with its bright pink body, red shoulders, orange tail, long pink legs, and spatulate bill. A delight to see in the wild, these gregarious wading birds feed in marshes, mudflats, and mangrove swamps. Sweeping their long, sensitive spoonbills in wide arcs from side to side, they grasp small…

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Scarlet Tanager Notecard

Scarlet Tanager Journal

$29.00

Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea) Adorned in flaming scarlet, with jet black wings and tail, the male Scarlet Tanager is one of the most beautiful birds of the deciduous forests of eastern North America. In contrast, the female is an unassuming olive green above and yellow below. The male’s burry song has been likened to the…

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Scarlet Tanager Lokta Card Acorn Designs

Scarlet Tanager Lokta Card

$5.00$8.00

Adorned in flaming scarlet, with jet black wings and tail, the male scarlet tanager is one of the most beautiful birds of the deciduous forests of eastern North America. In contrast, the female is an unassuming olive green above and yellow below. The call note of the species is a distinctive “chick-breeee”. A canopy-loving species,…

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Scarlet Tanager Notecard Acorn Designs scaled

Scarlet Tanager Notecard

$3.00$24.00

Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea) Adorned in flaming scarlet, with jet black wings and tail, the male Scarlet Tanager is one of the most beautiful birds of the deciduous forests of eastern North America. In contrast, the female is an unassuming olive green above and yellow below. The male’s burry song has been likened to the…

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