• Earth Day is Everyday!

    Earth Day is Everyday!

    Happy Earth Day everyone! I was able to get outside today and enjoy some bitter winds and periods of light snow, how about you? Wait, isn’t it Spring? Well, I guess Mother Earth can do whatever she wants today, as she does everyday but what the hell! We love her anyway!

    Since the entire world is in quarantine, lets appreciate how this can help the environment and see the good that can come from a negative event. This is also the perfect time to get lost in nature. Explore the woods, sit in the trees, soak up the sun or just lay in the grass. Plant a tree, plant a flower, put up a bird feeder or just recycle something. There are so many simple ways to help Earth and enjoy it at the same time. Just pick one!

    I decided to create a compilation of some of my favorite Earth related images that I have posted on my blog so far. I hope you enjoy them and I hope you enjoy your Earth Day!

    Stay earthy, free spirits!

  • Spring is Being a Tees!

    Spring is Being a Tees!

    Warm weather is on it’s way! We made it folks. We survived another Winter! Although, I don’t know about everyone else but this was one of the most mild Winters we have had in a long time. We had maybe two good snowstorms but other than that just rain and wind. Now it’s already getting into the high 50’s and low 60’s; I live in upstate New York! That’s insane!

    So it’s time to put away the hoodies and get some new spring tees out. Let your skin soak up the sunshine and sport one of my awesome tees that I have available on Teepublic. I never formally announced my arrival to Teepublic but I now have a store through going on a few months now. I just ordered one of my tees before starting this entry so I am very excited to get that in the mail! This is the one I ordered:

    I love the color! It matches my mandala beautifully! There are so many colors to choose from and I have a bunch more designs in my shop so check it out and let me know what your favorite one is!

    Thanks for stopping by! I hope you had a great season! Sending warm wishes and happy Spring vibes your way! Check back soon for more artwork and awesome merch!

    Spring forward, free spirits!

  • Animal Oddity – Cardinal Duality

    Animal Oddity – Cardinal Duality

    I am always on the look out for the newest biological discovery. I love cryptozoology and I find it fascinating when scientists discover things about animals and nature that seemed improbable or maybe even impossible. The weird, the strange, the oddities of nature. Long story short, I came across an article that inspired my latest piece.

    The article was explaining the rare occurence of a hermaphrodite cardinal. Half of the bird is female and the other half is male. When this occurs it is called a bilateral gynandromorph. Gynandromorph comes from the greek words “gyne” (female), “andro” (male) and “morph” (form or shape). There are several species known to have hermaphrodites such as reptiles, crustaceans, and even butterflies! Scientists believe that all birds are capable of producing gynandromorph offspring but it has only been noticed in birds that vary in color between males and females, such as the cardinal.

    Mostly cardinals have been spotted perfectly split down the middle with a vibrant red on one side and a calm yellow on the other. When I saw the image of one, taken by a Pennsylvania couple at their backyard feeder, I was amazed by the beauty of it’s plumage. I immediately added this animal oddity to my list and couldn’t wait to get started!

    I have always wanted to create a piece based on duality. It was interesting to create two sides that are similar to each other but at the same time exact opposites. The female side is done with circles where as the male side I used a square pattern. The colors are also opposing yet the shadowing and vibrance is the same.

    I’m very happy with how the cardinal turned out. I never intended to create as many bird drawings as I have, it just kind of happened. I just love feathers and their patterns and colors! I am naturally drawn to birds so therefore they are naturally drawn by me! See what I did there! 😉 I used Arteza water color pencils and Prismacolor art markers along with a micron pen to get the thin black lines. I can only hope that maybe one day I will see one of these beauty’s with my own two eyes!

    Have you ever seen a hermaphrodite cardinal or maybe another species in the wild? The butterflies would be really cool to come across too! Share your story in the comments below. Thanks for stopping by this week! Check back soon as I will discuss the symbolism of having cardinal as a totem!

    Stay vibrant, free spirits!

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    I have “Cardinal Duality” prints and other cool stuff available in my shop!

    Check them out here!

  • Help Save Australian Wildlife

    Help Save Australian Wildlife

    It is devastating the harm that the recent fires in Australia have caused. The fires started in November of 2019 due to extreme drought and record breaking heat waves. Over 100 fires are still active today all around the country, causing more threat to everyone around. So far, over 7 million acres have gone up in flames and with it an estimated 500 million animals. Many organisations are working tirelessly to rescue and treat as many animals as they can.

    Wildlife conservation and animal welfare are two topics I am very passionate about. It has been my dream to reach the point with my artwork that I could make a difference when help is needed. That’s why I am excited to reveal my latest piece I have been working on in honor of Australia’s wildlife.

    I put a lot of heART into this piece and I am so pleased with how it turned out! It is now available in my shops at Redbubble, TeePublic and soon Society6.

    ((*Update* Edited – 4.1.2020*)) The first two months this piece was posted, I donated 100% of the profits to WIRED Australian Wildlife Rescue Organisation. With the help of other wildlife lovers, we raised enough to make a great donation! To keep the drive going to protect Australia’s wildlife no matter what issues they face, I will continue to collect 25% of all profits from this piece and make another donation at the end of the year. ))

    Help me raise money to further protect the Australian wildlife! Animal Activism through Art! I cannot wait to start making a difference by combining my greatest passions, art and animals! Thank you for stopping by today! Please share and get the word out!

    Here are some other organisations accepting donations:

  • #4 – Killdeer Eggs

    At work today, we were planting trees in a mulch bed where a Killdeer was squawking at us, puffing out her feathers and chasing us away. We soon realized she had eggs she was protecting. We drew a circle in the mulch so we knew not to step there. Though she chirped her annoyance at us the entire time we worked, all was well in the end! I never would have guessed what beautiful eggs they have!

  • Flamingo Totem Drawing

    My Flamingo Totem is complete! It seemed like it took forever. Landscaping season started back up for me while I was half way finished with it. I can’t dedicate as much time in the day to drawing as I could over the winter. It really made the flamingo drag on but I forced myself to finish it and I’m glad I did. I am really happy with the outcome.

    I actually have two versions of the flamingo. The first version, pictured above, was my initial idea of just doing the body so I had plenty of room to create the patterns and tangles within the feathers. Feathers are a lot of fun to create using Zentangle. While I was working on the body, I realized, aside from their color, one of the flamingos most distinctive features are their long legs. I thought it would be neat to incorporate the legs into the drawing making one big project. I used three sheets of my drawing paper to create one huge piece of the flamingo with it’s legs. I scanned the three images to my computer and pieced them together creating this long legged beauty!

    I am really happy with how it looks as a full image. My only complaint is my scanner. Unfortunately, it couldn’t capture the really HOT pink color I was using so some of the areas are more dull compared to the original. Without comparing it though, the scanned image still looks pretty sweet!

    I have both of these versions available in my shop at Redbubble. Click the links below to check out apparel, home décor, stationary and more!

    Flamingo Totem (Body Only)

    Flamingo Totem (with Long Legs)

    You can also check out two patterns that I created from these pieces. The pretty blue background compliments the pink nicely. You can find these in my shop here and here.

    Which design or drawing is your favorite? Leave a comment below! Thanks for stopping by today! I have quite a few ideas for my next couple projects so check back often for new work. I hope you are enjoying some nice weather!

    Stay flashy, free spirits!

  • Flamingo WIP + Updates

    Happy Monday everyone! Was your Monday as blah as mine was? Sometimes, days are just like that. Rain doesn’t help those days either. You just want to curl up on the couch and watch a movie until you pass out. Any how, I survived the Monday blues long enough to write my post tonight. There are a couple updates I wanted to share.

    First of all, I have added more color to my Flamingo Totem. It’s becoming very bright and I’m excited to finish it! I have always avoided pink in the past since it was far from my favorite color. Lately, I have had more of an open mind with my work and have used it for my Flying Squirrel Totem and now flamingo. It’s nice to change things up every once and a while. Plus, I have always put limits on myself and my work, unintentionally. I use to “make rules” or guidelines to my art that I wasn’t allowed to teeter from. Like I was forced to stay within a certain style of art or subject. I have no idea how I picked up this terrible habit but I am proud to say I have kicked it and now create whatever I want, whenever I want, however I want. My art has improved greatly because of it! I’m even going to pick up painting again, which I am excited for. I just need to get some more supplies, first.

    Secondly, I wanted to share that I’m back to my full time job as a landscaper. I’m going to have to make some changes to my future content. As you can guess, Spring and Summer are the busiest months for a landscaper! Last year, I tried to keep up with my Totem Animal posts the best I could. I always shoot for one post a week but it can be difficult keeping up with everything. Not only do I need to create the drawing itself but I put a lot of time and energy into the research for each totem. Then when I have an understanding of it, I need to type it out for my blog. This is done in between my landscaping job, family responsibilities, social obligations, appointments and every once and a while….sleep. Not to mention any other efforts that need to be put into my business as an artist such as marketing and social media, editing my work for products and uploading it to my online shops (Redbubble and Society6) and how about just talking and connecting with people! I always tend to lose my mind a bit when Spring comes around! I have to lighten the load.

    I do not want my artwork to suffer and obviously I can not take time away from my family or my job that is currently paying the bills. Therefore, I am going to halt new Totem Animal symbolism posts. I will continue to create the drawings like I have been but I won’t be able to go over each one in detail about their symbolism. The art is more important than the writing and I don’t want to become discouraged because I can’t keep up with both! Don’t worry, I will still continue to keep my blog. I just won’t be able to write such lengthy posts for a little while!

    I hope you like the Flamingo Totem so far. Let me know what you think in the comments below! Thanks for stopping by this week.

    Happy Spring, free spirits!

  • Flamingo WIP

    My next totem that I am working on is the flamingo! They are a very bright colored bird and have odd proportions. The weather is finally starting to get warm and act like spring so I thought a nice tropical creature could help get us in the mood! It’s going to be beach season soon! Beach or not, I just want to be outside!

    Here is the completed ink for flamingo. The entire animal is done in tangles unlike my recent horse and orca totems. I can’t help but use zentangle when creating feathers! They are too perfect for the occasion.

    I will also be incorporating the legs but have decided a new and fun approach. I am drawing the flamingo on three different sheets of paper. Then, when I scan them into the computer, I can piece them together making one long print! It’s going to be cool! I like trying something new with each piece that I do so let’s see how it turns out!

    Thanks for stopping by this week! Check back next week to see the finished flamingo in all it’s florescent feathers!

    Stay flashy, free spirits!