I just finished the Calandra Lark. Here are some facts about this beautiful bird...
Appearance: It's a large lark, about 17.5-20 cm long, with a robust build, a heavy bill, and noticeable pale eyebrows
. Its plumage is mainly greyish-brown streaked above and white below, with large black patches on the breast sides.
Habitat: This species is found in open plains, steppes, pastures, and dry cereal cultivations. It's mainly resident in the west of its range but Russian populations migrate further south in winter.
Diet: Their main food source is seeds, but they also consume insects when nesting.
Behaviour: Calandra Larks are known to be gregarious outside the breeding season, often forming large flocks.
Song: Their song is considered musical and slower than the Skylark's. It has been historically popular as a cagebird.
All my drawings are random ideas from my head. I actually just started drawing in pencil about a year ago. I love to normally use felt tip pens. I just hope all like what they see. We're all artists here so everyone should know that we are our own worst critics lol.
Joyce Carol Oates (b. 1938)
The first several weeks of a new novel, Oates has said, are particularly difficult and demoralizing: “Getting the first draft finished is like pushing a peanut with your nose across a very dirty floor.”
From Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey
#dailyrituals #inktober #JoyceCarolOates @masoncurrey
Living, breathing, and creating with nature
When you wake up to the gentle sights and sounds of the pond, trees, plants, birds, bees, and dragonflies, inspiration flows effortlessly. So, when the owner asked for a menu design for @SarayaGoa Art Café, I thought—why not let nature speak for itself?
Using pen and ink, I captured the beauty of my mornings here—each stroke reflecting the lush surroundings that make Saraya unique. Instead of focusing on just food items, I filled the cover and inside pages with illustrations of the vibrant life around us. Dining here means eating among the green, surrounded by the diverse plants of our permaculture gardens.
This study is a tribute to the beauty that shapes every meal at Saraya.
Initiate of the Order of the Saints of the Scrapyard. All members of the order are entitled to the scrap of the mechs they fell (with the pieces they decline to use or take with them being tithed). To join the ranks proper, an initiate must fell an enemy pilot and bring their mech to heel (often by detonating the cockpit and going from there)). Initiates are given little more than a fusion engine (that may double as a shaped charge (or a death sentence depending on their luck)), a kinetic energy recycler (and shield for it to power), a small pile of scraps to build the rest of their sled, and a book of prayers for the scrapyard saints. Most will not graduate their initiation, ending their short stint as little more than ash on the breeze.
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.
#indonesia #criticallyendangered #sumatrantiger #amateurartist #tigerdrawing #tigersketch #tigercub #sketchadayapp #october2024
Anthony Trollope (1815–1882)
"All those I think who have lived as literary men,—working daily as literary labourers,—will agree with me that three hours a day will produce as much as a man ought to write.
...
"I always began my task by reading the work of the day before, an operation which would take me half an hour, and which consisted chiefly in weighing with my ear the sound of the words and phrases.…
This division of time allowed me to produce over ten pages of an ordinary novel volume a day, and if kept up through ten months, would have given as its results three novels of three volumes each in the year..."
From Daily rituals by Mason Currey
#dailyrituals #inktober #anthonyTrollope @masoncurrey
"You flee my dream come the morning
Your scent - berries tart, lilac sweet
To dream of raven locks entwisted, stormy
Of violet eyes, glistening as you weep"
If Terios wasn't a skin on "Sonic x Shadow Generations", I can see him being Shadow's older brother, trying to help his younger brother socialize more.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901)
Toulouse-Lautrec drank constantly and slept little. After a long night of drawing and binge-drinking, he would often wake early to print lithographs, then head to a café for lunch and several glasses of wine. Returning to his studio, he would take a nap to sleep off the wine, then paint until the late afternoon, when it was time for aperitifs.
(One of his inventions was the Maiden Blush, a combination of absinthe, mandarin, bitters, red wine, and champagne. He wanted the sensation, he said, of “a peacock’s tail in the mouth.”)
From Daily rituals by Mason Currey
#dailyrituals #inktober #henriToulouseLautrec @masoncurrey
