Drawing of leaves and nuts from the Marri tree, found in the Southwest region of Western Australia. This majority of trees that surround my property are the Marri from the Myrtaceae family is endemic to this area. They grow upwards of 40 metres and are a favourite food to the protected Red-tailed Black Cockatoo.
Watercolour painting of a Prickly Hakea. I started drawing different plants last month from the area where I live. This month I am turning them into watercolours, with the Hakea being one of the first.
Joan Miró (1893-1983)
Miró always maintained a rigidly inflexible daily routine—both because he disliked being distracted from his work, and because he feared slipping back into the severe depression that had afflicted him as a young man, before he discovered painting. To help prevent a relapse, his routine always included vigorous exercise—boxing in Paris; jumping rope and Swedish gymnastics at a Barcelona gym; and running on the beach and swimming at Mont-roig, a seaside village where his family owned a farmhouse.
Miró hated for this routine to be interrupted by social or cultural events. As he told an American journalist, “Merde! I absolutely detest all openings and parties! They’re commercial, political, and everybody talks too much. They get on my tits!”
From Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey
I've been going through my sketches, both completed and incomplete, and found a drawing of a young Sumatran Tiger that I began working on around two years ago, but never completed. I'm actually relieved that I didn't draw it earlier, as it has allowed me to gain more experience in illustrating this stunning creature, which is unfortunately a species at risk of extinction.
A few facts about the Sumatran Tigers...
The Sumatran tiger Panthera tigris sumatrae*, the smallest tiger subspecies, is critically endangered and stands as the final surviving species of island tigers. Poaching poses a significant danger to Sumatran tigers as hunters target them for their skin, bones, and canines. Additionally, habitat loss caused by oil palm, coffee, and acacia plantations, further endangers these big cats by reducing their prey availability and pushing them closer to human habitations.
It is estimated that there are fewer than 400 mature individual tigers in Sumatra in isolated pockets of protected land. Three of the protected areas are classified as UNESCO World Heritage Sites but all are in danger of losing this status due to threats from poaching, illegal logging, agricultural encroachment, and planned road building. It is for these reasons the Sumatran tiger is classified in the most severe IUCN status: Critically endangered.
Description: The Sumatran tiger is the smallest and darkest tiger subspecies and tends to be more bearded and maned than the other subspecies. Male tigers can expect to reach somewhere in the region of 120kg and 8ft from head to tail vs females who average 91kg and 7ft length.
Breeding: Female tigers are sexually mature at about 3 or 4 years of age, and males at about 4 to 5 years. Mating may occur any time during the year, but it most frequently takes place from November to April. The information was obtained from conservewildcats.org. Thank you.
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The forest nearby is full of baby banksias growing in poor gravelly/sandy soil which they do better in. The little one was growing on the edge of a gravel road.
The nearby pine tree has dropped quite a few pine cones, all in different states of decay. I enjoy looking at the different shapes, sizes and colours of each cone, each with its unknown story.
There are only a few lovely large pine trees near my home in the Southwest of Western Australia. This little sprig was found on a walk where there was only the one pine tree in amongst the other trees.
