Picture book
Studio open · spring 2026 plates
Faro · Algarve coast04.26 — 09:32 WET
Sparrow
A naturalist studio
Folio · vol. 11 · 2026
Inés
Lourenço.
Watercolour field studies, naturalist illustration, and small printed editions — painted slowly from a courtyard studio in the Algarve.
11
yrs in watercolour
47
plates
94.6%
editions sold out
Plate 047 · Sturnus2026
Common starling
Estuary, March 14
Available
Three plate slots · summer 2026
Presses · societies · publishers
Field Notes Co. ·Verge Editions ·Northwind Labs ·Plover Studio ·Linnea Bakery ·Karmel Press ·Sumiya Editions ·Maison Château ·The Heron Society ·Thrushbeak Press ·Field Notes Co. ·Verge Editions ·Northwind Labs ·Plover Studio ·Linnea Bakery ·Karmel Press ·Sumiya Editions ·Maison Château ·The Heron Society ·Thrushbeak Press ·
Selected plates · 2024 — 2026
A small folio.
02 / 042025
Edition print
Eight Ferns of the Algarve
Verge Editions
03 / 042025
Calendar
Twelve Pebbles, Twelve Months
Field Notes Co.
04 / 042024
Editorial series
Field Bestiary, Volume 03
Thrushbeak Press
Practice
Field, paper, press.
Each plate begins outside, ends in print. The studio does not skip the middle, even when asked to.
Always painted from life
01
Field
Two weeks in the field. Sketchbooks, gouache notes, photographs only as memory aids.
02
Paper
Studio painting on cold-press paper. Watercolour first, gum arabic last. No digital colour.
03
Press
Letter-press partner in Faro. Each edition signed and numbered before leaving the courtyard.
Sparrow vs. stock illustration
Why a courtyard studio.
Practice point
Sparrow
Stock library
Source
Field, this season
Stock photo, dated
Medium
Watercolour on paper
Vector & filter
Originals
Signed, numbered
None — digital file
Print partner
Faro letterpress
Outsourced
Generative AI
Never
Often, undisclosed
Inés sees the bird before she sees the page. The studio still smells of damp paper and gum arabic when work arrives.
Maja Nilsen
Senior Editor, Field Notes Co.
0
Years in watercolour
0
Plates published
0
Books illustrated
0
Field studies
Engagement
Three ways to work.
The studio takes about twenty plates a year, plus one book. Each begins with a phone call, never a deck.
Tier
Investment
Window
Includes
Study
from €620
1 watercolour study, 2 weeks
- Single bird, plant, or stone
- Original on cold-press paper
- Editorial use, 1 region
Folio
Most chosen
from €3,800
8–12 plates, 8 weeks
- Full plate folio
- Sketchbook + originals
- Print + book licensing
Atelier
by project
Books & calendars, 6–9 months
- Full art direction
- Letter-press partner liaison
- Edition launch + tour
Common questions
Before you commission.
Not here? Write — studio@sparrow.pt
From the courtyard
Recent notes.
04 / 2026Studio
Painted a swift today. The first this year — the windows were finally open.
Read note
03 / 2026Books
Garden Birds in proof. Twelve plates, three more than I planned.
Read note
02 / 2026Travel
Two weeks in the Camargue with the field kit and a small notebook.
Read note
01 / 2026Edition
Eight Ferns sold out in seventeen days. A small reprint coming.
Read note
Open commissions
Send a species.
A leaf will do.
Most plates begin with a poorly-photographed leaf, a memory of a bird, or a question. Drop a line — I will write back, slowly.