#ballpoint pen
so here’s a fish that i had no idea existed. these guys are the largest of the gar species, reaching ten feet and 300 pounds. i cansee these guys being (mis)featured in some 3d horror fish movie but they don’t really seem to attack humans. they’re eggs are poisonous to us though. they’re native to waters in the US and seemed to be fished for pretty regularly. some parts of the states consider them a bit of a delicacy not unlike, well, alligators. atractosteus spatula in moleskine.
i don’t remember much from my high school english classes. being the techno-geek that i am, english was not very high on the interest scale after the ninth grade. the asian six pack was though! but for some reason i do remember the rime of the ancient mariner, by samuel taylor coleridge. i had never heard of an albatross and after having heard the description, i imagined them to be quite giagantic birds. what i didn’t remember about the poem was the reference it made to the birds being a sign of both good and bad luck. ravens seem to share this same ambiguous symbolic meaning so for me there is a nice alternative when it comes to imagery. i find it funny that of all the animals i’ve drawn for the bestiary though, the two with such ambiguity happen to be birds.
they are indeed large birds with wingspans that can exceed three and a half metres (over eleven feet for you empirical folk). i guess this helps them to efficiently soar over large distances with minimal effort. they eat fish and shell fish but they do scavenge as well (another similarity to ravens). there are twenty one species of albatross and nineteen are considered threatened. the amsterdam and chatham albatross are considered endangered. long line fishing is not a friendly activity for these birds. hopefully they’re still around by the time i finish this bestiary.
i thought these guys live longer but their average life span is ten to fourteen years. males are closer to ten due to the fact that they fight with rivals regularly. apparently the stamina of lions isn’t great. they can get up to pretty fast speeds of fifty miles per hour but they’re sprinters, not lovers i mean marathoners. they hunt in packs. although i think the lionesses do the hunting. unfortunately, the populations of lions is also diminishing due in part to loss of habitat and humans being humans. panthera leo in moleskine.
another entry for the
bestiary. these guys have four and three toenails on their front and hind feet, respectively. that’s one less on each foot than with other species of elephants. they also have rounder ears, a longer and lower jawbone, and straighter, more downward and smaller tusks. their molars (four usually) weigh over 10 lbs! what i really didn’t know is that females have tusks as well. loxodonta africana in moleskine.
i’m not typically into techno/electronic type music but crystal castles is one duo i do like. i find it hilarious that they’re named after a she-ra reference. their new album seems a bit more poppy but it’s still pretty decent. i guess i’d call it a bit more ambient. anyway, check them out if haven’t already. alice glass and ethan kath in moleskine.
lots of randomness observed while waiting at cleveland hopkins international airport. haven’t been doodling as much as of late – just too much on the go. be prepared for more randomness from my trip to supplement, ha ha. actually, i need to post more inspiration type stuff too. i’ll get on that soon…hopefully.
i was away for a couple of weeks and during that time i got to soak up a little bit of the old city in cartagena. some drawings from when i was there. nice place – so hot! still haven’t tried the columbian coffee i got but will do so soon. our tour guide, encarnacion, and statues of cervantes and india catalina in moleskine.
a couple of weeks ago i was able to finally go to life drawing for the first time in months. i was out of practice but it felt pretty good. i should probably mix up the media i use more but i still find it challenging to capture something i’m completely happy with. every once in a while i’m ok with the session. the drawings below from an earlier session occurred on such a day. life drawing at ocad, in moleskine.
one minute poses.
five and ten minute poses.
twenty minute poses. i think i’m going to break out the brush pen more.
his other work is, uh, ok too. check it out and you’ll see what i mean. this kid’s a machine and seems to really breathe through his work. check out his blog
here, too.
these guys live in the antarctic like other penguins. i can’t believe they can dive something like one hundred seventy five metres and will swim nearly two hundreds miles to get food. talk about a trip to the grocery store. i find it interesting that they form nests in part with stones. penguins are wicked. adélie penguins in moleskine.
soodles? sudles? brutal. a few more commuter drawings.
i don’t remember much from my high school english classes. being the techno-geek that i am, english was not very high on the interest scale after the ninth grade. the asian six pack was though! but for some reason i do remember the rime of the ancient mariner, by samuel taylor coleridge. i had never heard of an albatross and after having heard the description, i imagined them to be quite giagantic birds. what i didn’t remember about the poem was the reference it made to the birds being a sign of both good and bad luck. ravens seem to share this same ambiguous symbolic meaning so for me there is a nice alternative when it comes to imagery. i find it funny that of all the animals i’ve drawn for the bestiary though, the two with such ambiguity happen to be birds. 
i thought these guys live longer but their average life span is ten to fourteen years. males are closer to ten due to the fact that they fight with rivals regularly. apparently the stamina of lions isn’t great. they can get up to pretty fast speeds of fifty miles per hour but they’re sprinters, not lovers i mean marathoners. they hunt in packs. although i think the lionesses do the hunting. unfortunately, the populations of lions is also diminishing due in part to loss of habitat and humans being humans. panthera leo in moleskine.
