Angel and Devil

"No matter how hard Damian tried he just couldn't make a 'snow devil!!"

"Fat" -Illustration Friday

Artist's Note: When I first read the topic I thought that because it is so similiar to a previous word (gluttony)I might use something from then. (Quite frequently I come up with several pieces for each prompt on Illo-Friday. My goal is to finish at least two.) Then I remembered why I got involved with this was to build my portfolio. So here you have an original.

Whale Blubber- Essential Fat
Whales are warm-blooded mammals that can survive in water temperatures as frigid as the low-40s F. How do they manage to stay warm, even in the ice-cold waters of the North Pole and Antarctica? By wearing a thick layer of fat-called blubber-just beneath the skin.

How does the whale acquire this fat layer? Being mammals, whales suckle their young. A baby gray whale, for example, may drink up to 30 gallons of its mother's milk-which has the consistency of soft margarine-every day! An adult gray whale, on the other hand, may eat tons of crustaceans during a given feeding period. All of this intake is necessary to not only provide the whale with the energy it needs to swim great distances and dive to incredible depths, but to help maintain an essential layer of fatty insulation.

What is unique about baleen whales?
Baleen whales are some of the largest animals on earth. Characteristic baleen plates and paired blowholes help distinguish baleen whales from toothed whales. All cetaceans have a long, strong diaphragm which allows them to rapidly exhale as they surface and quickly inhale before submerging. The phrase "Thar she blows!" was coined by whale hunters who spotted the column of vapor as the whales exhaled.

Why were baleen whales hunted?
Early humans hunted whales for food and oil. But in the 19th and early 20th centuries, before the invention of plastic, whales were hunted commercially for their baleen or "whalebone" as well as for their oil. The whalebone was used to make women's corsets, buggy whips, and umbrella ribs. Most baleen whale species remain severely depleted because of this commercial whaling.

Baleen refers to the filtering device they have in their mouth in place of teeth. The Blue Whale, The Bowhead Whale, The Bryde's Whale, The Fin Whale, The Humpback, The Minke Whale, The Pygmy Right Whale, The Right Whale, and The Sei Whale are all baleens.

source: U.S. Department of Commerce/NOAA/NMFS/AFSC/NMML and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)- "Secrets of the Ocean Realm."

Under the Sea - Illo Friday

Under The Sea - Illustration Friday - Here are three pieces I did for an informational activity book.
I love doing pictures about the sea, guess it's one of my passions.
Beachcombing - One of my favourite things to do at the beach! You never know what treasures the sea will leave you on the beach. Here on the Delaware coastline there were several shipwrecks from around the 1700's and occasionally coins and other artifacts come ashore! Alas, I have yet to find real treasure. My treasures are the shells, whelk egg cases and fossil rocks!

The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach - waiting for a gift from the sea.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Lobster- MMMMMMM!- Once I use to vacation in Maine every summer. We would go to this resteraunt in BoothBay called "The Lobsterman's Co-Op." You could literally pick the lobster off the boats as they came in. By far the BEST sea food I have ever had...besides "The Lobster Pot" in Provincetown, Mass!

Robot- Illustration Friday

(Insert robot voice here)"You are exactly .05 inches northwest of the beech tree which is exactly 37 years old and home to a family of possums! Would you like to play again?" Sometimes Tommy wished he hadn't made his robot to be quite so smart!

Robot- Illustration Friday.
Whew! Just made it! I was striving to get this in Sunday evening but the computer was pre-occupied with my partner's addiction to "Diner Dash!" LOL!
What a busy week end! I am surprised I came up with anything, let alone three pieces. You get to see my favourite. Sorry it's the rough draft...Again, busy, busy, busy!
Oh, and for you info groupies here's a little more...

History of "Robot"
The idea of artificial people dates at least as far back as the ancient legend of Cadmus, who sowed dragon teeth that turned into soldiers, and the myth of Pygmalion, whose statue of Galatea came to life. In classical mythology, the deformed god of metalwork (Vulcan or Hephaestus) created mechanical servants, ranging from intelligent, golden handmaidens to more utilitarian three-legged tables that could move about under their own power. Jewish legend tells of the Golem, a clay statue animated by Kabbalistic magic. Similarly, in the Younger Edda, Norse mythology tells of a clay giant, Mökkurkálfi or Mistcalf, constructed to aid the troll Hrungnir in a duel with Thor, the God of Thunder.

The word Robot was introduced by Czech writer Karel Čapek in his play R.U.R. which was written in 1920 (See also Robots in literature for details of the play).

Concepts akin to today's robot can be found as long ago as 450B.C. when the Greek mathematician Archytas of Tarentum postulated a mechanical bird he called "The Pigeon" which was propelled by steam. Al-Jazari (1136-1206) an Ortoqid (Artuk) Turkish inventor designed and constructed automatic machines such as water clocks, kitchen appliances and musical automats powered by water.

Source is Google's Answers.com.

Spotted Taguas - Illustration Friday

Spotted-
This little ckicky is trying not to be spotted by the cat as the worm comes up for air and is startled by the sight of a bird! He also hopes he isn't spotted. All taking place under and around the spotted mushroom.
Below you will see my inspiration for this cartoon. I use to talk about the alternative to ivory, tagua nut, as art form in my environmental education classes.


TAGUA NUT CARVINGS- A VEGETABLE IVORY
It is a type of coconut seed that comes from the palm tree (Phytelepas Equatorialis) in Ecuador, South America. The coconut's milk solidifies, then is set out to dry under the sun for 4-7 months. It is then as hard as ivory and can be carved. Each fruit of about 25 pounds contains 4 to 9 seeds (or nuts) about the size of a hen's egg. Natives that raise these trees do not cut down the rain forests anymore because these trees are now a source of income. These nuts are hand carved and accented with inlaid wood, tagua shell powder, coconut powder and shell. The caramel colored pieces have been deep fried to achieve this color. Often a small spot of brown nut is left on an otherwise all white carving so it is not mistaken for elephant ivory by customs officials.

Sea Dragon- Speedy?

Mercury/Hermes- Speed.Illustration Friday
Of course this was my first idea but I assumed it would be thought of by everyone so I didn't post it originally. Four years in Latin class and my favourite part was the Gods and Goddesses!!! (The teacher was really cool too...thank you Miss Johnson wherever you are!!)
O.K. sooooo here is an interesting tidbit. Did you know the names of Mercury's famous helmet, shoes and magic staff? Me neither. The winged sandals were called "talarius," and were a symbol of his swiftness. His winged hat was called "petasus," a traveler's hat. It's symbolism was the same as the talarius, but it additionally became the symbol of inspiration, because as psychopomp, he was likewise the guide of the mystic. His herald's staff??? The "caduceus," was a magic wand that could change lead into gold and cure any; therefore it became the symbol of modern medicine!


Sea Dragon- Speed.I'm sure you are waiting with "baited breath" as to my explaination of what the heck a Sea Dragon (Sea Horse) has to do with speed, right?! Well I live near the sea and the word "speed" got me to wondering how fast the dolphins travel up and down the shore every morning and evening (37mph on the waves of a ship's bow and 28mph on open water). When I ended up looking at a list of the fastest fish in the sea. (Sailfish 68.18mph, Mako Shark 60mph, Marlin 50mph, Wahoo 48.5mph, Bluefin Tuna 43.4mph, Blue Shark 43mph, Bonefish 40mph and Swordfish 40mph! Guess that explains the price difference between Mako Shark and Swordfish at my favourite resteraunt! LOL!) OK...so the slowest fish????? You guessed it! Believe it or not the sea horse travels a whopping 0.01mph!!!!

More info on Sea Dragons.....
Sea Dragons are arguably the most spectacular and mysterious of all ocean fish. Though close relatives of sea horses, sea dragons have larger bodies and leaf-like appendages which enable them to hide among floating seaweed or kelp beds. Sea dragons feed on larval fishes and amphipods, such as and small shrimp-like crustaceans called mysids ("sea lice"), sucking up their prey in their small mouths. Many of these amphipods feed on the red algae that thrives in the shade of the kelp forests where the sea dragons live.

As with their smaller common seahorse (and pipefish) cousins, the male sea dragon carries and incubates the eggs until they hatch. During mating the female deposits up to 250 eggs onto the "brood patch" on the underside of the male's tail. After about eight weeks, the brood hatches, but in nature only about 5 per cent of sea dragons survive to maturity (two years). A fully grown Leafy Sea Dragon grows to about 18 inches (45 cm).

Leafy Sea Dragons are very interesting to watch-- the leafy appendages are not used for movement. The body of a sea dragon scarcely appears to move at all. Steering and turning is through movement of tiny, translucent fins along the sides of the head (pectoral fins, visible above) and propulsion derives from the dorsal fins (along the spine). Their movement is as though an invisible hand were helping, causing them to glide and tumble in peculiar but graceful patterns in slow-motion. This movement appears to mimic the swaying movements of the seaweed and kelp. Only close observation reveals movement of an eye or tiny fins.

Spring has Sprung- Illustration Friday

I just hate when the colour all washes out when you scan coloured pencil. Sorry. Nonetheless here you have my famous Prickly Pear Cactus. It wasn't until I dug it up out of the woods and dragged it home that I discovered it had imbedded thousands of microscopic needles into my body! (Elmer's glue works wonders on removing cactus needles BTW!) Don't miss my other "hike find" below!

Artists create with their hands in many ways. I also enjoy working the earth.
Since I am profoundly proud of my "Weed Tree" I would like to share it with you all. (Some of you may recall I posted a photo of it when I was still new to the blogosphere last year.)
I frequently hike in the woods looking for plants to drag home and grow in my landscaping. I now have a beautiful Northern Prickly Pear Cactus a Holly Tree and two Yucca plants that are flourishing as we speak. But the one I am most proud of is my Cherry Tree. Everyone made fun of me for nearly a year, telling me it was a weed. Well, just look at her now! See with the right materials the earth can be your canvas too!!!

Monster- Illustration Friday

"Though Harold couldn't quite put his finger on it. He knew; somehow, this was going to be a really bad day!"
"Spike was sure he heard the yelping of a small dog coming from the new neighbor's lawn. He surely hadn't expected THIS!!!"
Monster- Boy did I have a "devil" of a time getting these up. First I ran out of ink (so keep in mind these are raw drawings with no detail) then my computer would NOT let me upload them for two days! GRRRR...turned me into a monster trying to post for monster! LOL!!

My first intention was to do something with the "game" we play with our grandson called "Tickle Monster." People just aren't my forte' though.
So Then I thought i'll research and do something abstract...like the monster of Glamis (Glamis Castle, Scotland) but that turned out to be a deformed relative ghost of the Glamis family...not a good subject.

Then I thought the "Beast of Bodmin Moor" (Cornwall, England livestock terror)sounded like a neat subject. But that turned out to be a giant cat or panther. Nothing terribly interesting to draw there.
So here you have it.

Feeted Fish and Endangered Feet

Endangered Feet- Illustration Friday.
OK...here is a more serious approach. Pen and ink sketched out with graphite first.

Several "feet" under the ocean is where you'll find..."feetless fish" dreaming of the "feeted" kind! or.....
"I feet a fish a fish I feet and on that feeted fish I feast!" LOL!
Pen and ink, coloured on the computer then retouched with coloured pencil and more ink.
Sorry, I am in a bit of a silly mood this week. Guess feet make me feel silly. I have a more detailed piece coming.

Tattoo- Illustration Friday

Tattoo- Illustration Friday. I can assure you I am not trying to be an eager beaver and post early. My grandson (3yrs. Old) is coming for the entire week end and I know I won't be able to accomplish much with him here . So here you have two of my early works. I logged in well over 10 hours of time on them.

They are done in pen and ink. (You'll notice in the crayfish I used a different ink in places- so sad). I am constantly asked to design tattoos because of the intricate pen and ink work I do. At first I took offense to it...Now, the thought of having my art on someone's body forever doesn't sound half bad!!!

Insect- Dragonfly- My Favourites!

"Insecticide" happens on many levels as Steve and Billy demonstrate here. Not something I condone...yet, nonetheless...it happens!
O.K. This was the third idea that I had for "Insect," much along the same lines as the second. I still have a couple others..I'm not sure if I will post them. This topic really has me going.
I have a new method now. Graphite sketch, copy over in ink simplisticly so colouring on computer will adhere to edges. Print in colour then add detail in coloured pencil and more ink. Any suggestions will be helpful.
I have a Wacom (9x11) but no programme to go with it so it collects dust in my studio at the moment. My birthday is coming so I hope the birthday fairy remembers I need a programme! LOL!!
My nephews send many pictures that they drew I have to work on scanning them in...please be sure to stop by and post some words of encouragement! (See my profile for their blogs.)

"It's true Harold bugged everyone but no one expected Arthur to snap one day and take matters into his own hands. Yes, this was a clear case of...INSECTICIDE!"
O.K. This is old, and I am still working on the new piece for this week's entry...however, I saw a piece on Sharon Colman and her Oscar nominated short called "Badgered" and thought it was more important to post something so I could get the word out about this teriffic artist!

Illustration Friday- Liber-TEA

Liber-TEA- Considering our history with tea in America I thought it only fitting to pay homage to those first settlers who fought for our freedom. "No taxation without representation!" Now to the interesting fact:
Seems as though throughout history people have mistakenly referred to afternoon tea as "High Tea." This is a misnomer. High tea (also referred to meat tea) is in the evening served with dinner. Because dinner was at the high table it was referred to as "High Tea." "Low Tea" is what you have in the afternoon...you guessed it! Served at the "low table" in the living room!!

Illustration Friday- Songs to Jugglers

Song of Spring.
Find out what "Jugglers" have to do with "Song" below!
Funny the places I end up when researching the Illustration Friday challenge.

Apart from the recently discovered cuneiform tablet containing a song from the Middle East of the 2d millennium B.C., now thought to be the oldest notated music known, and apart from ancient Greek song (see Greek music), the manuscripts of which are lost, the first outstanding examples of art song before the baroque period are those of the troubadours, trouvères, minnesingers, and meistersingers.
Troubadours (trū'bədôrz) , aristocratic poet-musicians of S France (Provence) who flourished from the end of the 11th cent. through the 13th cent. Many troubadours were noblemen and crusader knights; some were kings. Of the more than 400 known troubadours living between 1090 and 1292 the most famous are Jaufré Rudel de Blaia, Bernart de Ventadorn, Peire Vidal, Raimbaut de Vaqueiras, Folquet de Marseille (archbishop of Toulouse), Bertrand de Born, Arnaut Daniel, Gaucelm Faidit, Raimon de Miraval, Arnaut de Mareuil, and Guiraut Riquier. Of lower birth were the jongleurs who performed the troubadours' works and perhaps assisted in their composition.
Jongleurs(zhông-glör') , itinerant entertainers of the Middle Ages in France and Norman England. Their repertoire included dancing, conjuring, acrobatics, the feats of the modern juggler, singing, and storytelling. Many were skilled in playing musical instruments. The jongleurs were often collaborators or assistants of troubadours or trouvères.

Encyclopedia information about troubadours and jongleursfrom
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press.

Simple

Simple-Illustration Friday.
It's really simple...most of us were disappointed in "Sea Monkeys" as pets!
I started researching this week's challenge and among other things came across "one celled organisms." Which reminded me of how much I loved looking at things under a microscope at school...which also led me to remember those famous Sea Monkeys I put under the microscope and became horrified and disappointed all in the same moment!

Harold Nathan Braunhut (aka Harold von Braunhut)was an American mail-order marketer most famous as the creator(though they were discovered in Lymington, England in 1755)
and seller of Amazing Sea-Monkeys. He was also an inventor.

Von Braunhut (who died in Marlyland due to an accidental fall in 2003)used comic book advertisements to sell an assortment of quirky products. Braunhut held 195 patents for various products, many of which became cultural icons.
Some of his products included:

X-Ray Specs, Crazy Crabs(hermit crabs), Amazing Hair-Raising Monsters (a card with a printed monster that would grow "hair"- mineral crystals- when water was added) and Invisable Goldfish (non-existant fish that were garunteed to remain invisable permanently!).

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Sea Monkeys didn't really take off until comic book illustrator Joe Orlando drew comic book ads showing humanized versions of the Sea-Monkeys enjoying life in their underwater fantasy world.

Thanks to you, Joe Orlando, I got a taste really early in life about "reality vs. fantasy"...after that Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy were all put under the microscope as well!

Chair

Chair- Illustration Friday. Well, I have to say I had MANY ideas for such a simple word...a woman standing on a chair with a mouse underneath it...chairs with characterization playing instruments- "musical chairs," then the first piece I actually put on paper for this week's word challenge was a pencil sketch of Walt Disney resting in a rocking chair. But, for as long as I spent on it, you would think I learned by now...pencil still does not translate well on the computer.
Then I did a piece called "View from a beach chair" but that wasn't going to be completed on time...so, here you go. A simple graphic instead. A tribute to the type of chair I had at school growing up. (Of course the best part was reading all the graffiti that was written on them and carved into them!)Sakura ink one hour.
At least I got several pieces for my portfolio out of this!!!

Glamour- Magic

Glamour
from Scots
This word originated in Scotland

Where else would you find glamour but on a windswept Scottish heath? Though you might look elsewhere for glamour today, the Scottish dialect of English is where all other English speakers got the word. Of course the Scots had a more serious meaning for it.

Originally it meant nothing more or less than grammar, the study of the proper form of words and sentences. This was back in the Middle Ages, when only a few clerics and clerks (both words have the same origin) knew how to write. To others, grammar meant something mysterious and magical, as it still does to many who wrestle with the language today. Eventually grammar came to have a secondary meaning of "magic."

In Scots, the word had an l instead of the first r. We find writers from Scotland using this magical glamour in English as early as 1720. Later in the eighteenth century, the poet Robert Burns writes of

And the novelist Sir Walter Scott discussed the magical glamour in his Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft (1830).

In the twentieth century, it was apparently American usage that transferred the glamour of magic to the glamour of fashion, personality, and life style. To make the word even more glamorous, Americans retained the British our ending instead of changing it to or as we usually do (in words like color and flavor).

WordNet information about glamour
WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. More from WordNet

Cats...Illustration Friday

Tarsier vs The Cats. Illustration Friday Challenge.
This was way too easy so I wanted to be sure not to do the obvious. So I did a Tarsier facing a mean posse of cats. Mostly because the Tarsier could pose with the surprised look I needed for the effect. Did you know that the Tarsier has the largest eyes of any mammal? They are so large that they do not move in their sockets. Instead they can turn their heads 180 degrees!
The topic this week also reminded me of a song we actually learned in elementary school music class...let's see...what was the music teacher's name? Oh yes, Mrs. Vanderhoff- she was awesome! OMG! I can't believe I remembered that, it was eons ago! Anyway here are the lyrics...

The Cat Came Back
(Version 1)
Written By: Harry S. Miller (with later folk additions)
Copyright Unknown

Old Mister Johnson had troubles of his own
He had a yellow cat which wouldn't leave its home;
He tried and he tried to give the cat away,
He gave it to a man goin' far, far away.

But the cat came back the very next day,
The cat came back, we thought he was a goner
But the cat came back; it just couldn't stay away.
Away, away, yea, yea, yea

The man around the corner swore he'd kill the cat on sight,
He loaded up his shotgun with nails and dynamite;
He waited and he waited for the cat to come around,
Ninety seven pieces of the man is all they found.

But the cat came back the very next day,
The cat came back, we thought he was a goner
But the cat came back; it just couldn't stay away.
Away, away, yea, yea, yea

He gave it to a little boy with a dollar note,
Told him for to take it up the river in a boat;
They tied a rope around its neck, it must have weighed a pound
Now they drag the river for a little boy that's drowned.

But the cat came back the very next day,
OK....you get the idea!!!

E is For...

E is not for gecko...as you can plainly see; but, if you were to see one of these in your bed you might just yell.."EEEEEEEEEEEEK!" (yup, ya' gotta click on the image to see the hours of detail...please make sure you do so so that the carpel tunnel pain feels vindicated!)

Neptune

Neptune-Illustrationfriday
This was a piece I did a while ago. As was the one below. I am currently working on a new piece that I fear won't be done in time.
Funny, I was so excited when I saw the word because I love all things "Sea" related (not to mention I am 15 minutes from the shore)! Yet it stumped me for a while this week end. Plus I am working on this Wabi-Sabi writing class and it takes up quite a bit of my time- but I am loving it! I forgot that I could write as well as draw!

Seahorses

Seahorses-Illustrationfriday
What could more fitting to the theme of "Sea" than seahorses.