Man-Eating Flowers

This is a 16" x 20" oil pastel piece that we hung on our daughter's wall when she was a baby.  I like to build layers with oil pastels and then scratch out areas.  This is a technique my mother taught me when I was probably five or six years old.  I still think it is as fun and cool as I did back then.  Also, my mom discovered this blog a couple months ago and she said it was "awesome".  So there!

Leave(s). Go. Goodbye.

Please, Please, Please, can we have a mild winter? I am not a shovel and blower fan.

The Forgotten Wildlife: Echo Lizard

Echo Lizard

The echo lizard lives on the sandy green beaches of the Beant Islands. This man-sized lizard walks upright as it scans the coastline for beachfish, it's favorite meal. When it spots a beachfish basking in the sun or cooling in a tide pool, the echo lizard emits an intense series of squeaks and clicks. It focuses the sounds into powerful "echowaves" by wiggling it's tongue towards it's intended meal. When a beachfish is hit by an "echowave", it is temporarily stunned and becomes easy prey for the echo lizard.

The Forgotten Wildlife is an idea that has been with me for over a decade. I have hundreds of creature sketches and concepts. I'm not exactly sure what to do with them, but they are constantly on my mind. Any ideas or suggestions for these guys would be greatly appreciated.

Beachfish

A huge influence on The Forgotten Wildlife are the dozens of excellent nature programs by David Attenborough. His take on the natural world is fascinating, informative, and entertaining. He is one example to prove that television is more than just a vast wasteland for the mind.

This clip is a nice overview of his career but I suggest digging around youtube and/or Netflix, which streams most of his specials. Great Stuff! (The theme for Jurassisc Park is playing on this clip. David is the brother of director and actor Richard Attenborough, who played John Hammond in that film.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHc8ATrA4oQ

Another influence on The Forgotten Wildlife are the Walking with... specials. This is one of the cheesier clips where Nigel Marvin "travels back in time" to "research" prehistoric animals face to face. Still great, though. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZtlHvhAqho

Do Do Do Looking Out My Back Door

High of 68 tomorrow. The family goes back to school and daycare on Monday. Autumn is coming. I took the above photo out our front door last fall.

I love natural and organic design. There are wonderful lines and shapes in nature. I always feel content when I am surrounded by woods. I can spend hours absorbing nature photography and artwork. I did a whole series of abstract paintings inspired by natural forms.

Here are a few examples:




This is a clip from the documentary Rivers and Tides. It is a film about Andy Goldsworthy's wonderful work. He alters the world using only naturally found things and then lets nature do what it will. It's awe inspiring to see the time and effort put into the pieces and then to watch the "life" and eventual destruction of them over time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9TyHzP-8b8