Teddy Bear's Change of Seasons - Sophie's Christmas included!
Is beautifully written and illustrated, Teddy Bear’s Change of Seasons includes four charming stories, wonderfully rolled into one children’s novel.
Teddy Bear and his friends create magical ways to explore and learn about the snow-white, wonderful world they live in, which changes from summer to autumn and into an unforgettable Christmas.
Teddy’s journey of self-discovery through four seasons, Christmas included, begins in a magnificent old-growth forest, but Teddy is stuck inside a dark and lonely place.
His dreams look far away and out of reach, until Teddy rescues a small mouse, who is desperate for help.
From this one act of kindness, Teddy's life changes in ways he never imagined, bringing him close friends, a new loving family and the kind of challenges and adventures other teddies have never encountered before.
This is a dream of a book, the perfect snuggle-down bedtime story, accompanied by hot, sleepy cocoa.
Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971)
“I get up at about eight, do physical exercises, then work without a break from nine till one,” Stravinsky told an interviewer in 1924. Generally, three hours of composition were the most he could manage in a day, although he would do less demanding tasks—writing letters, copying scores, practicing the piano—in the afternoon.
Unless he was touring, Stravinsky worked on his compositions daily, with or without inspiration, he said. He required solitude for the task, and always closed the windows of his studio before he began: “I have never been able to compose unless sure that no one could hear me.” If he felt blocked, the composer might execute a brief headstand, which, he said, “rests the head and clears the brain.”
- From Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey
para el día 9 de Fruitecember hoy le toca a frutillas
para este día decidí dibujar a un Bewear salvaje que le robó algunas frutillas a un entrenador que andaba por allí
Just before the Christmas rush really intensifies and we bid 2024 adieu, it’s time for me to break in another sketchbook… Given the timing of it all, and life in general right now, the name “The Watt Nows” seems very pertinent for this new volume!
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
My only niece's 1st birthday was a few days ago. I decided to start a tradition of drawing her every year for her birthday as special uncle presents. Here is her first one. Her favorite movie right now is Monsters University
I am a professional logo and graphic designer. This piece is for one of my clients at https://thebackvault.com. How will you rate this piece? It is designed for public display and banner display.
The background tries to represent the noise around in the environment and in the mind. Its a silhouette art which asks the viewer to stay quiet and find escape from noise.
I still haven’t got round to watching the second Joker film yet, but if the reviews I’ve read are true then this random verse I scribbled down to accompany my drawing checks out!
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
This captivating ink drawing features a fantasy character standing still, deeply rooted to the earth and seamlessly merged with nature. Surrounded by a complex web of trees and plants, the figure embodies the essence of the natural world. In the background, a mesmerizing sunset casts a warm glow over abstract waves of clouds, creating a harmonious blend of light and shadow. This artwork symbolizes the profound connection between humanity and the environment, inviting viewers to reflect on the beauty of nature.
This black and white ink drawing portrays an aged man with a beard lost in deep contemplation within a futuristic spaceship setting. The subtle hints of sadness on his face are contrasted against the vastness of space, where the Milky Way is barely visible in the background. The artwork evokes feelings of isolation and reflection, inviting viewers to ponder the human experience amidst the cosmos.
This striking black and white ink drawing personifies Time as a dark entity surrounded by flying souls. A half moon hovers between two hourglasses, symbolizing the passage of time, while smoke billows from two pit fires below. The scene is grounded by skulls and bones, emphasizing the theme of mortality. The artwork is elegantly framed in a gothic style, enhancing its surreal atmosphere and dark symbolism, inviting viewers to reflect on the inevitability of time and its impact on existence.
Sigmund Freud (1856–1939)
“I cannot imagine life without work as really comfortable,” Freud wrote to a friend in 1910. With his wife, Martha, to efficiently manage the household—she laid out Freud’s clothes, chose his handkerchiefs, and even put toothpaste on his toothbrush—the founder of psychoanalysis was able to maintain a single-minded devotion to his work throughout his long career.
Freud’s long workdays were mitigated by two luxuries. First, there were his beloved cigars, which he smoked continually, going through as many as twenty a day from his mid-twenties until near the end of his life, despite several warnings from doctors and the increasingly dire health problems that dogged him throughout his later years. (When his seventeen-year-old nephew once refused a cigarette, Freud told him,
From Daily rituals by Mason Currey
#dailyrituals #inktober #sigmundFreud @masoncurrey
Jane Austen (1775–1817)
Austen never lived alone and had little expectation of solitude in her daily life. Her final home, a cottage in the village of Chawton, England, was no exception: she lived there with her mother, her sister, a close friend, and three servants, and there was a steady stream of visitors, often unannounced.
...
Austen wrote in the family sitting room, “subject to all kinds of casual interruptions,” her nephew recalled. She was careful that her occupation should not be suspected by servants, or visitors, or any persons beyond her own family party. She wrote upon small sheets of paper which could easily be put away, or covered with a piece of blotting paper. There was, between the front door and the offices, a swing door which creaked when it was opened; but she objected to having this little inconvenience remedied, because it gave her notice when anyone was coming.
“Composition seems to me impossible with a head full of joints of mutton & doses of rhubarb.”
From Daily rituals by Mason Currey
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Benjamin Franklin (Part 2)
The plan worked, up to a point. After following the course several times in a row, he found it necessary to go through just one course in a year, and then one every few years. But the virtue of order—“Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time”—appears to have eluded his grasp. Franklin was not naturally inclined to keep his papers and other possessions organized, and he found the effort so vexing that he almost quit in frustration.
This timetable was formulated before Franklin adopted a favorite habit of his later years—his daily “air bath.” At the time, baths in cold water were considered a tonic, but Franklin believed the cold was too much of a shock to the system. He wrote in a letter: I have found it much more agreeable to my constitution to bathe in another element, I mean cold air. With this view I rise early almost every morning, and sit in my chamber without any clothes whatever, half an hour or an hour, according to the season, either reading or writing. This practice is not in the least painful, but on the contrary, agreeable; and if I return to bed afterwards, before I dress myself, as sometimes happens, I make a supplement to my night’s rest, of one or two hours of the most pleasing sleep that can be imagined.
From Daily rituals by Mason Currey
#daulyrituals #inktober #benjaminfranklin @masoncurrey