Melusine, from the Liminal Beings drawing collection.
Graphite on paper, 2026
Melusine is framed in a wood cabinet.
Griffin Sentinel, from the Liminal Beings drawing collection.
Graphite on toned paper, 2026
Click on an image or scroll down to see the drawings in each collection.
For commission inquiries, please email me at brianrwilliamsart@gmail.com
The Rare Earth drawings are inspired by the movements & natural processes of the Earth as it traverses the universe: its rhythmic conjunctions with the Sun and other planets in the Solar System, the predictable rise and fall of its tides, and the cycle of continuous creation, destruction & regeneration of its surface.
Click on images to enlarge.
Solstice
Graphite on paper, 2026
Equinox
Graphite on paper, 2026
Carbon
Graphite and charcoal powder on toned paper, 2025
Left: Ventifact
Graphite on toned paper, 2025
A ventifact is a stone that has been shaped and weathered by wind-blown sand.
Right: Schiller
Graphite and gold paint on toned paper, 2023
Schiller is the iridescent shimmer in some metallic rocks.
Left: Petrogenesis
Graphite and charcoal powder on toned paper, 2023
Petrogenesis is the creation of volcanic rock.
Right: Orogen
Graphite on toned paper, 2022
Orogeny is the process by which mountains are formed.
Conjunction
Graphite, charcoal powder and gold paint on paper, 2023
Spring Tide
Graphite on paper, 2023
The Eclipse
Graphite on toned paper, 2018
All images ©2023-2026 Brian R. Williams
Time is symmetrical on the micro and universal scales, but for living things on Earth, time appears to go only one way.
Click on images to enlarge.
The Arrow of Time I
Graphite on paper, 2025
Left: The Arrow of Time II
Graphite and charcoal powder on paper, 2026
Right: The Arrow of Time III
Graphite and colored pencil on toned paper, 2026
All images ©2025-2026 Brian R. Williams
Left: Mathilde
Graphite and colored pencil on toned paper, 2021
Right: Vala
Ink on Bristol board, 2021
Click on images to enlarge.
Left: Ælfgyva
Graphite on toned paper, 2021
Right: Dreda
Ink on toned paper, 2021
Left: Pascal
Graphite on toned paper, 2021
Right: Marlow
Ink on Bristol board, 2021
Left: Alphonse
Graphite and colored pencil on toned paper, 2021
Right: Terrel
Ink on Bristol board, 2021
Left: Hortense
Graphite on Bristol board, 2021
Right: Thistle
Ink on toned paper, 2021
Left: Claude
Graphite on Bristol board, 2021
Right: Hrothgar
Ink on toned paper, 2021
Mars
Graphite on toned paper, 2021
About the Children of Melusine Drawing Series
The thirteen graphite and ink drawings in this series are inspired by the medieval French folk tale about Melusine, a beautiful, mysterious woman who lives in the woods and is wooed by a man named Raymond. Melusine agrees to marry Raymond on the condition that he will let her return to her house in the woods once a week, and that he will never follow her there. Melusine gives birth to many children. Each child is born with an unusual physical attribute: one is covered in fur, another has a tusk growing out of his face, yet another is born with one eye higher on his head than the other. One day, Raymond breaks his promise and follows Melusine back to her house in the woods. As he spies on her, he sees her lower half transform into a sea-serpent tail. When Melusine discovers Raymond's transgression, she leaves him, never to return.
I was fascinated by the description of each of Melusine's children and their attributes presumably inherited from Melusine's mythical nature. Their fantastical features are a reminder of and connection to their heritage.
For this series of drawings, I used French Neoclassical portraits from the early 1800s as references. Graphite drawings make up the first half of the series, showing people with facial features inherited from animals, birds and insects; physical reminders that people are children of nature. These drawings envision a fictional post-Revolutionary Era utopia in which humanity reconnects with nature, as opposed to the actual historical timeline leading to the acceleration of environmental destruction and extinction.
The ink drawings that make up the second half of the series feature people with animal skulls for heads that are meant to be a visual inversion of the living creatures from the first half. The people in these drawings are eternally disconnected from themselves (they're missing their human heads) as well as from nature. The skulls that they use to replace their missing heads symbolize death, and are the only relics from the natural world that these people carry with them.
All images ©2021-2026 Brian R. Williams
The Alarm Calls drawings show birds vocalizing warnings of imminent climate collapse on islands of decommissioned fog horns that have been left to rust & disintegrate.
Click on images to enlarge.
Alarm Call I
Graphite on toned paper, 2019
Alarm Call II
Graphite on toned paper, 2021
Nunc aut Nunquam is Latin for "Now or Never."
Alarm Call III
Graphite on toned paper, 2021
Finis Terrae is Latin for "Land's End," or literally, "End of the Earth."
Alarm Call IV
Graphite on toned paper, 2025
Alarm Call V
Graphite on toned paper, 2025
Alarm Call VI
Graphite on toned paper, 2025
All images ©2019-2026 Brian R. Williams
Tiergeist (plural: Tiergeister) means "animal spirit" in German. These drawings depict colossal tiny animals invading people-places.
Click on images to enlarge.
The Grant St. Tiergeist
Graphite and colored pencil on toned paper, 2026
The Récamier Tiergeist
Graphite and colored pencil on toned paper, 2025
The Lyndhurst Tiergeist
Graphite and colored pencil on toned paper, 2025
The Bryn Du Tiergeist
Graphite on toned paper, 2021
The Stan Hywet Tiergeist
Graphite on toned paper, 2020
All images ©2020-2026 Brian R. Williams
I make a Hermits drawing when I want to climb into a tree and hide.
Click on images to enlarge.
The Hermit I
Graphite on Bristol mounted in a shadow box frame, 2022
Left: The Hermit II
Graphite on paper, 2025
Right: The Hermit III
Graphite on toned paper, 2025
Hermits IV
Graphite on toned paper, 2026
The Hermit V
Graphite on toned paper, 2026
Hermits VI
Graphite on paper, 2026
All images ©2022-2026 Brian R. Williams
First Classquatch I
Graphite on toned paper, 2016
Click on images to enlarge.
Left: First Classquatch II
Graphite on toned paper, 2019
Right: First Classquatch III
Graphite on toned paper, 2024
First Classquatch IV
Graphite on toned paper, 2026
Left: First Classquatch V
Graphite on toned paper, 2026
Right: First Classquatch VI
Graphite on toned paper, 2026
First Classquatch VII
Graphite on toned paper, 2026
First Classquatch VIII
Graphite on toned paper, 2026
All images ©2016-2026 Brian R. Williams
An instar is a developmental phase of insects that undergo metamorphosis. This drawing collection shows movie stars from the golden age of cinema transforming into butterflies & moths.
Click on images to enlarge.
Daphnis
Graphite on Bristol board in an antique photo frame, 2017
Hyles valentineata
Graphite on Bristol board in an antique photo frame, 2018
Actias hayakawa
Graphite and colored pencil on toned paper in an antique photo frame, 2019
Hedylida lamarri
Graphite on paper in an antique photo frame, 2019
Left: Marlene polyxenes
Graphite and colored pencil on toned paper, 2024
Right: Marlene parthenos
Graphite and colored pencil on toned paper, 2026
Chrysiridia novak
Graphite and colored pencil on toned paper, 2026
All images ©2017-2026 Brian R. Williams
The Liminal Beings drawings are my reinterpretation of creatures from myths & folklore, urban legends, deities, and other human/animal hybrids that exist in a transitional realm.
Click on images to enlarge.
The Sphinx of the Western Reserve
Graphite on paper, 2019
Melusine
Graphite on paper, framed in a wood cabinet, 2026
Griffin Sentinel
Graphite on toned paper, 2026
Krampus
Graphite and charcoal powder on paper, 2024
Dunkelgrafen (The Dark Counts)
Graphite on toned paper, 2022
Gallipolis, 1792
Graphite on toned paper, 2022
Night-fighter
Graphite on toned paper, 2021
Persephone
Graphite on toned paper, framed in a wood cabinet, 2018
Persephone is framed in a cabinet, pictured, with the cabinet doors open and closed.
Gold Coast Siren
Graphite on toned paper, 2019
All images ©2018-2026 Brian R. Williams
These are some of my favorite drawings because they combine two of my favorite subjects: history and dinosaurs. I was in the mood to draw a dinosaur, so this collection started as a question I posed to myself: What if famous Americans from history had dinosaurs as companion animals?
Click on images to enlarge.
Annie Oakley and Stegosaurus
Graphite on Bristol board, 2016
Georgia O'Keeffe and Coelophysis
Graphite on Bristol board, 2018
Frederick Douglass and Styracosaurus
Also pictured is Douglass' second wife, Helen Pitts Douglass (right, seated) and her sister Eva Pitts (standing behind the Stegosaurus).
Graphite on Bristol board, 2018
All images ©2016-2026 Brian R. Williams
Left: Czar Nicholas II Dressed as a Thylacine
Graphite on Bristol board, 2016
Right: Marie Antoinette Dressed as a Western Black Rhino
Graphite on Bristol board, 2017
Click on images to enlarge.
All images ©2016-2026 Brian R. Williams
The Gilded Age collection is inspired by Victorian-era photography, such as early daguerreotypes, royal portraiture and spirit photography.
Click on images to enlarge.
Girls with RSVP Eyes
Graphite on Bristol board, 2015
The Magpie's Widow
Graphite on Bristol board, 2015
Finnigan
Graphite on Bristol board, 2015
Left: Brookes of Hammockshire
Graphite on Bristol board, 2014
Right: Heathcliff
Graphite on Bristol board, 2015
Little Phillip
Graphite on Bristol board, 2014
Left: The Hollenburg Poltergeist
Graphite on Bristol board, 2014
Right: The Haunted Gramophone
Graphite on Bristol board, 2014
The Metamorphosis
Graphite on Bristol board, 2014
Left: Beatrix
Graphite on Bristol board, 2014
Right: Beatrix in an antique photo frame
The Dowager
Graphite on Bristol board, 2014
All images ©2014-2026 Brian R. Williams
In my Whaleplanes series, I replaced fighter jets and dirigibles in old photos with whales.
Click on images to enlarge.
USS Minke over New York City, 1933
Graphite on Bristol board, 2014
Blackfish Squadron
Graphite on Bristol board, 2014
Stenella Corsair
Graphite on Bristol board, 2014
All images ©2014-2026 Brian R. Williams
For this series, I wanted to give flightless birds the power of flight using (admittedly inferior) man-made technology.
Click on images to enlarge.
Penguin/Autogyro
Graphite on Bristol board, 2013
All images ©2013-2026 Brian R. Williams
Fearsome Critters of the Lumberwoods is a series based on lumberjack tales.
Lumberjacks would tell each other tall tales about fantastical creatures that lived in the vast North American wilderness in order to explain mysterious disappearances, strange noises heard at night, or to be used as pranks played on young and inexperienced members of their camp.
Click on images to enlarge.
The Hidebehind
Graphite on Bristol board, 2013
The Hidebehind has razor-sharp claws on its front paws, which it uses to disembowel unsuspecting lumberjacks who stray too far from camp. It is able to hide behind even very narrow trees, so that it can attack without warning.
The Luferlang
Graphite on Bristol board, 2013
The Luferlang resembles a horse with an extra joint in each leg. Its tail is situated on the center of its back. It bites only once a year -- on July 12 -- but its bite is fatal.
The Teakettlers
Graphite on Bristol board, 2013
Teakettlers are dog-like creatures with cat-like tails. They walk backwards and their call sounds like a whistling tea kettle.
All images ©2013-2026 Brian R. Williams
The Explorers series depicts European and American explorers as endangered animals from the region they opened to exploitation for Western colonial powers.
Click on images to enlarge.
Leif Ericson, c.1000
Graphite on Bristol board, 2013
Leif Ericson was the first European to reach North America.
Vasco da Gama, 1498
Graphite on Bristol board, 2013
Vasco da Gama was the first European to reach India by sea.
Willem Janszoon, 1606
Graphite on Bristol board, 2013
Willem Janszoon was the first European to reach Australia.
Left: Lewis and Clark
Graphite on Bristol board, 2013
Meriwether Lewis (left) and William Clark (right) explored the North American interior in 1804.
Henry Morton Stanley, 1876
Graphite on Bristol board, 2013
Henry Morton Stanley explored the Congo.
All images ©2013-2026 Brian R. Williams
My Extinct Birds drawings show birds wearing clothing that was fashionable during the year that they went extinct.
Click on images to enlarge.
Left: Laughing Owl, 1914
Graphite on Bristol board, 2012
Right: Carolina Parakeet, 1918
Graphite on Bristol board, 2012
Left: Choiseul Pigeon, c.1929
Graphite on Bristol board, 2013
Right: Great Auk, 1844
Graphite on Bristol board, 2012
Left: Hawaii 'O'o, 1934
Graphite on Bristol board, 2012
Right: Imperial Woodpecker, c.1956
Graphite on Bristol board, 2012
Left: Molokai Creeper, c.1963
Graphite on Bristol board, 2012
Right: Atitlán Grebe, 1989
Graphite on Bristol board, 2012
All images ©2012-2026 Brian R. Williams
The Fowl Fraternity is a series of drawings of birds whose names could also be used to describe people. Click on images to enlarge.
Left: The Booby, graphite on Bristol board, 2007
Right: The Cardinal, graphite on Bristol board, 2008
The Chick
Graphite on Bristol board, 2008
Left: The Cock
Graphite on Bristol board, 2009
Right: The Cuckoo
Graphite on Bristol board, 2007
The Dodo
Graphite on Bristol board, 2008
Left: The Drake
Graphite on Bristol board, 2009
Right: The Hawk
Graphite on Bristol board, 2008
The Loon
Graphite on Bristol board, 2007
The Owl
Graphite on Bristol board, 2008
Left: The Snipe
Graphite on Bristol board, 2007
Right: The Swift
Graphite on Bristol board, 2007
All images ©2007-2026 Brian R. Williams
These drawings are cousins to each other and the other drawings in my portfolio, but they have no siblings.
Click on images to enlarge.
Anthracite Deer
Graphite and charcoal powder on toned paper, 2026
Chronospecies
Graphite and charcoal powder on toned paper, 2024
Sixth Extinction Sonata
Graphite on paper, 2021
Relic
Graphite on paper, 2021
The Anchorite
Graphite on paper, 2021
Anima Nova (A New Life)
Graphite on toned paper, 2019
Somnambulocetus (Sleepwalking Whale)
Graphite and colored pencil on toned paper, 2019
The Marquise de Valfierno
Graphite on Bristol board, 2018
Emperor Jasperian
Graphite on Bristol board, 2018
Hinter Schwarzen Vogelmasken
(Behind Black Bird Masks)
Graphite on toned paper, 2016
Femmes Fatales
Graphite on Bristol board, 2016
Left: Finch and Crane
Colored pencil and graphite on toned paper, 2014
Right: Love Birds
Graphite on Bristol board, 2013
Left: Gruss vom Krampus! (Greetings from Krampus!)
Graphite on Bristol board, 2014
Right: Dracula
Graphite on Bristol board, 2013
Doktor Schnabel von New Albany
Graphite on Bristol board, 2008
All images ©2008-2026 Brian R. Williams
Elga and the Gallopers
Client: Worthy Tales Magazine, Issue No. 7, Spring 2023.
Graphite on paper, 2023
Confrontation in the Library
Client: Worthy Tales Magazine, Issue No. 7, Spring 2023.
Graphite on paper, 2023
A Sorcerer's Wishing
Client: Worthy Tales Magazine, Issue No. 6, Summer 2022.
Graphite on paper, 2022
Far From the Litter Box
Client: Drool Magazine, Issue No. 6
Graphite on paper, 2021
The Siren and the Nightingale
Private client
Graphite on toned paper, 2020
Furry, Four-Legged and Family
Client: Johns Hopkins Alumni Magazine, Summer 2017 issue
Graphite on Bristol board, 2017
Lady Gwyn of Herefordshire
Private client
Graphite on toned paper, 2016
Dodos auf der Flucht (Dodos on the Run)
Publisher: Verlagshaus Berlin
12 graphite illustrations on paper, 2016-2018
These are a series of 12 illustrations in Dodos auf der Flucht (Dodos on the Run), a book of poems about extinct and endangered animals, written by Berlin-based poet Mikael Vogel.
Forest Adventure Game, 2013
Client: Columbus Museum of Art
Alkyd oil on wood
The Forest Adventure game was commissioned by the Columbus Museum of Art for their Wonder Room; an interactive gallery space that is part of their Center for Creativity.
I designed and painted 100 wooden tiles that players can arrange in an infinite number of ways to create a path through the wilderness. Players encounter rivers, deserts, forks in the road, obstacles, secret passages, tools that they can use, and lots of fantastical creatures.
The game is designed to be open-ended, with several ways to play, for people of all ages.
Click on images to enlarge.
Images ©2013-2026 Brian R. Williams
