swamp-walker

[Art] Bateleur Eagle as Totem

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 01:36:43 GMT

Bateleur Eagle as Totem

The bateleur eagle is a medium-sized eagle found in the savannahs of South Africa. They are one of the well-known snake eagles, famous for their amazing aerobatic abilities from which their tilting of wings while in the air is where the name bateleur (French for ‘tight-rope walker’) probably originates. Adults pair for life, and help to raise the young together. The female, as with many birds of prey, is larger than the male. Bateleur eagles are usually silent, though they may scream or bark when excited.

Totem Keywords

Savannah wisdom and power, the power of silence, balance, getting your balance, stabilising, looking for stability, Sun King, sun worship, upperworld messenger, conduit between energies, messenger of the gods, pride, ego, instincts, true sight, accurate clairvoyance, wisdom, power, heat and wind energy, soaring over obstacles, the flight of the spirit.

18.5 x 20.5cm (or 7.4 x 8 in)
- $95 USD -
illo's board, fineliner, aquarelle, pencil, metallic and iridescent paint

Crappy flash photo so you can see the shiny. :)

[Art] Opalescent Rooster

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:50:05 GMT

Opalescent Rooster

$150 USD
19.5 x 28 cm.
illo's board, fineliner, pencil, acrylic, aquarelle

[Art] Magnolia

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:09:58 GMT

This was a freebie commission for Glen's brother's wedding reception (it's going out as a...oh it's hard to explain, but it's gonna look cool I think.

I got Glen to hold it for a sense of scale.

Hee. And hey, look, I do something other than animals and people!

[Art] Opalescent Rooster - pre-colouring.

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:58:26 GMT

Opalescent Rooster

Man, mad detail. It's ready for colouring now. Woot. :)

[Art] Black Wolf and Pines

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:34:16 GMT

- On hold -
27.5 x 39 centimetres (11 x 15 inches) on
cold-pressed illustrator's board
waterfast, archival fineliner, pencil, watercolour pencil, acrylic, gouache

No prints will be made available (or if there are, they will be very small versions), because I cannot get a high enough resolution picture of the final. Apologies.

Final - The final is taken with a flash, but because of the strength and layers of colour in some areas, there's reflective / whiting out happening on the eye and such. Scroll down to th end to see the final with no flash, for a more accurate reflection on the blacks. I am super happy with this.

Original Sketch

WIP 01 - Linework of the wolf and energy lines in the piece.

WIP 02 - More delicate linework of the pinecones in the right-hand side of the piece, beginning of the landscape.

WIP 03 - Completion of the trees and basic linework in the landscape, blacking out of the darker lines in the piece.

WIP 04 - As you can see in this one, I've started fleshing out one of the pinecones on the bottom right. The fur has been done, and I've worked a little bit more on the landscape.

WIP 05 - There probably should've been another WIP picture here, but meh. More detail is added to the energy lines. Outlines are given to all the pinecones, and dots are used to create more depth and shading in the pinecones themselves. Spirals with a 0.1 fineliner are used in the background behind the trees, and pinecones. The rocks get some cross-hatching to add texture, and dots with a 0.5 fineliner are used underneath the trees themselves to create a greater illusion of density. And then of course there's texture in some of the pine trees themselves. This baby is ready for colouring now. :)

WIP 06 - Here you can see the very beginning of the application of watercolour pencils. Watercolour pencils are tricky, because how they look being applied (i.e. the lighter colours near the wolf's muzzle) are very different to how they look once you've added water (i.e. the more saturated colours everywhere else). Those colours near the wolf's muzzle are identical to the ones that have already had water applied. So using watercolour pencils is like its own alchemy, making them an awesome medium.

WIP 07 - Here I've applied the watercolour pencils to the rocks, a small section of sky, and all the grasses. I've also applied a thin layer of wash / pencils to the water.

WIP 08 - Wolf goes gothic! Here I've started applying the shadows to the wolf. The background spirals and the pinecones have been coloured. I've blocked in (but not watered in) watercolour pencils into the rest of the sky.

WIP 09 - I've darkened the water again, and blocked in the wolf's coat. This is the first layer of colour. It's predominantly greys, blues, greens and browns with almost no black.

WIP - 10 - The rest of the sky is watered in, and the trees are started. A lighter wash goes here, and then later darker greens will be added in regular pencil, which creates a greater sense of texture. The trees get a deliberately messy 'wash' with the brushes, again for texture. The pine needles around the pinecones have also been painted in.

WIP - 11 - Added a layer of colours to the wolf's fur, making it more opaque, and started adding shades to the pine trees out the back.

WIP - 12 - Finished pine trees. I'm sure I did something else at this point. Lol.

WIP - 13 - Metallic olive paint is added to the trees,

FINAL - NO FLASH - Added an extra layer of black aroudn the pine-trees, changed some of the colour shades in the energy lines, which works better for the energy I'm evoking. Added silver dots to the rocks, and to the border between the pinecones and the rest of the image. Added areas of cream to the border around the pinecones. Cream highlights to the water, and additional work on the water to increase the shading (about four layers of colour, smudged in with a tissue, to create a shiny effect in certain lights)

[Art] WIP - Black Wolf and Pines - colouring process

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:49:33 GMT

About just under halfway through the colouring process, applying the first layer of colour - the water colour pencils.

I've decided to show more WIP shots for the colour process than I ever have for any other picture. So have at it, and enjoy!

Original Sketch

WIP 01 - Linework of the wolf and energy lines in the piece.

WIP 02 - More delicate linework of the pinecones in the right-hand side of the piece, beginning of the landscape.

WIP 03 - Completion of the trees and basic linework in the landscape, blacking out of the darker lines in the piece.

WIP 04 - As you can see in this one, I've started fleshing out one of the pinecones on the bottom right. The fur has been done, and I've worked a little bit more on the landscape.

WIP 05 - There probably should've been another WIP picture here, but meh. More detail is added to the energy lines. Outlines are given to all the pinecones, and dots are used to create more depth and shading in the pinecones themselves. Spirals with a 0.1 fineliner are used in the background behind the trees, and pinecones. The rocks get some cross-hatching to add texture, and dots with a 0.5 fineliner are used underneath the trees themselves to create a greater illusion of density. And then of course there's texture in some of the pine trees themselves. This baby is ready for colouring now. :)

WIP 06 - Here you can see the very beginning of the application of watercolour pencils. Watercolour pencils are tricky, because how they look being applied (i.e. the lighter colours near the wolf's muzzle) are very different to how they look once you've added water (i.e. the more saturated colours everywhere else). Those colours near the wolf's muzzle are identical to the ones that have already had water applied. So using watercolour pencils is like its own alchemy, making them an awesome medium.

WIP 07 - Here I've applied the watercolour pencils to the rocks, a small section of sky, and all the grasses. I've also applied a thin layer of wash / pencils to the water.

WIP 08 - Wolf goes gothic! Here I've started applying the shadows to the wolf. The background spirals and the pinecones have been coloured. I've blocked in (but not watered in) watercolour pencils into the rest of the sky.

WIP 09 - I've darkened the water again, and blocked in the wolf's coat. This is the first layer of colour. It's predominantly greys, blues, greens and browns with almost no black.

WIP - 10 - The rest of the sky is watered in, and the trees are started. A lighter wash goes here, and then later darker greens will be added in regular pencil, which creates a greater sense of texture. The trees get a deliberately messy 'wash' with the brushes, again for texture. The pine needles around the pinecones have also been painted in.

[Art] Black Wolf and Pines - Precolouring.

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:57:35 GMT

This picture is now ready for colouring. And I'll do no more ink work on it, dammit! Except for signing it. At some point.

Original Sketch

WIP 01 - Linework of the wolf and energy lines in the piece.

WIP 02 - More delicate linework of the pinecones in the right-hand side of the piece, beginning of the landscape.

WIP 03 - Completion of the trees and basic linework in the landscape, blacking out of the darker lines in the piece.

WIP 04 - As you can see in this one, I've started fleshing out one of the pinecones on the bottom right. The fur has been done, and I've worked a little bit more on the landscape.

WIP 05 - There probably should've been another WIP picture here, but meh. More detail is added to the energy lines. Outlines are given to all the pinecones, and dots are used to create more depth and shading in the pinecones themselves. Spirals with a 0.1 fineliner are used in the background behind the trees, and pinecones. The rocks get some cross-hatching to add texture, and dots with a 0.5 fineliner are used underneath the trees themselves to create a greater illusion of density. And then of course there's texture in some of the pine trees themselves. This baby is ready for colouring now. :)

Shamanic Pathways 10 - A Gaggle/Murder/Cacophony of Shamans.

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 07:47:23 GMT

One of the things that's hard to find in contemporary shamanic practices (especially if you're not a Core shamanist), is a sense of community. Whether that be online, or in person.

Practicing as a shamanist can be a lonely path in general. I mean on the outside looking in, it sounds like a crazy religion. You have a person who talks to spirits and land-wights, who believes in gods and the power of sacred animals, who often works to shepherd dead spirits to their resting places, to heal the soul, to travel to invisible worlds that are more commonly accepted to be fantasy or make-believe, rather than the real places a shaman knows them to be. Being a shamanist often involves not just working with pre-existing spirits and deities, but meeting new ones, and bringing their stories back into the world. It is always about walking a fine line between respecting the past, and being a pioneer at the front of spiritual practice.

And any pioneer, in any walk of life, can be difficult for others to accept.

But I'm not talking about a sense of community outside of shamanism here, I'm talking about a sense of community within shamanism. I have this dream, you see, of being able to sit down with a group of people; either online or off, and discuss the ethics of tricking soul fragments into the body. This example, is just one of the many things I devote a lot of thought to, and wish I had more input on. You see, some of the more ancient shamanic cultures simply tricked, connived or plain trapped soul fragments to force them back into the body. With contemporary psychology - or at least, with my limited understanding of it - being as it is, forcing anything back into the body presents problems. How to reconcile the differences? I'd love to brainstorm with other experienced contemporary shamanists... but... where are they?

I've been a shamanist for about 8-9 years now. I run my website; wildspeak.com, I've been a member of countless forums, both shamanic (including the once excellent, but now very quiet English-speaking Kondor forum) and general pagan. I used to be active in the Western Australian Combined Covens community (where I only ever met one other neo-shamanist, but I'm sure there are others), and I'm not exactly new to the crowd. And I can say that I don't know of any community setting where a group of contemporary non-Core shamanists could talk about the ethical dilemma I raised above. Hey, if you know of any, tell me!

I have people in a one on one setting I can talk to, via email. But no real sense of community with it. Once Google Wave comes out, of course, that will change. Because then email / community will be one and the same, and I'm hoping to see some changes in the way the often-solitary-but-community-driven shaman / shamanist responds to this kind of technology.

The things I'd like to do with groups of contemporary non-Core shamanists is extensive. I'd like to see new or learning shamanists experiment or offer soul retrieval / depossession to other shamans/ists with experience (who require it, by the way, not people who are splitting their soul for 'learning purposes'), so that both can go through the process together, and learn together, and create a bond. I'd like to see ethical discussions about the best soul healing techniques, and like on the old Kondor forum, discussions about the best ways of getting from place to place in the Otherworlds, and the best ways of settling down disgruntled spirits of the dead (which, in the past, has ranged from cupcakes, to tea, to chanting, to talking to them, to bringing touchable, affectionate animal spirits along with you). I'd like a community, or communities that worked to solidify otherworldly UPG, while at the same time; show fearlessness when it comes to bringing new UPG to the table, as is our responsibility as story-tellers and makers.

For now, I'm limited to writing posts like this one, and often resolving these issues by myself. Shamanism is a lonely path, my friends; but it should never be this lonely.

Oh god, not Squiby!

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:29:27 GMT

Click Me! Click Me! Click Me! Click Me! Click Me! Click Me! Click Me! Click Me! Click Me! Click Me! Click Me!

[Art] Snow White and Rose Red

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:45:58 GMT

Snow White and Rose Red

This picture broke my brain in all the right ways.

*

38 x 51cm / 15 x 20 in
Original for sale - $695 USD
Crescent illustrator's board, technical pens, pencil and aquarelle, acrylic.

Now, onto my next project!

[Art] Free shipping on prints at DA.

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 08:54:07 GMT

For a short time only, DeviantArt is offering FREE shipping (globally, ANYWHERE, on ANYTHING) on its prints. This is for the next four days only.

So if you were thinking of getting some of my artwork in print format for Christmas, now's the time to do it!

[Art] Snow White and Rose Red - Pre-Colouring.

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 03:26:10 GMT

Snow White and Rose Red

Detail shot.

The full picture. Man I am so excited to colour this now. And yes, ALL those stupid goddamned rose leaves were shaded with pointillism.

Detail shot.

Detail shot.

[Art] Rabbit Girl - including story

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:04:17 GMT

On the edge of a poor village, bordering the forest, lived an old man and his spoilt daughter. The daughter only ever ate one thing; rabbits. She begged her father for rabbits all the time, and refused to eat anything else.

Rabbit Girl
38 x 51cm / 15 x 20 in
Original for sale
Crescent illustrator's board, technical pens, pencil and aquarelle, acrylic and pigment.

The rabbits - understandably - got sick of this. They met together one night in the forest, and complained that this spoilt girl should only choose to eat them out of all the animals. The Rabbit King decided it was better they all find a new home. The rabbits, all together under the night sky, ran from their homes.

The next day, the father had poor luck hunting for rabbits. And the day after that. And the day after that. In despair, he gave to his daughter the finest meats, but she threw them all away. The daughter herself decided to take things into her own hands. She decided to visit a witch, to see if she could do anything.

The first witch gave her an amulet, with strict instructions on its use. The daughter followed all the instructions, but it didn't work. The second witch gave her an amulet, with strict instructions on its use, and still it didn't work. Finally, in a village far from her own, she found a witch who was neither good or evil, who listened to her lament with narrowed eyes.

'Tell me exactly what you want.' The witch said. And the girl closed her eyes and then in a rush said;

'I want as many rabbits as can fit inside me, and then some.'

The witch smiled a lopsided smile, gave her an amulet with strict instructions on its use, and sent her away.

The daughter followed the instructions, and felt the earth rumble beneath her feet in the field where she had used the amulet. And then rabbits poured from the earth. They ate their way through her feet, burrowed and kicked up her legs and into her belly. They poured from her eyes, and tails sprouted from her head, long rabbit ears from her fingers.

And when they were done, they spilled away, cavorting in the night. Behind them, they left the shaken and terrified daughter in the form of a young rabbit.

Distraught, she hopped all the way home, hiding from foxes and hunters and their dogs. Until finally she scratched upon her father's door. When her father opened the door and saw the rabbit waiting there, he couldn't believe his luck, and wrung its neck; a special treat for when his daughter returned.

*

You might think the moral of the story is; be careful what you wish for, or it doesn't pay to be greedy... but really, the moral of the story is don't mess with the fucking rabbits, because they'll mess you back.

[Art] Print available!

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 08:31:06 GMT

A print is now available for Everest and the White Fox:

[Art] Rabbit Girl - Pre-Colouring.

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:56:00 GMT

The black and white for this was an utter bitch, and probably the most intensive inkwork I've had to do for a while. The photo does none of this justice, but that's okay.

I'm really proud of this picture so far. I went from feeling ambivalent about it, to hating it, to being uninterested (Dani), to finally loving it. The predominant colours, so that you're not wondering, will be in the blue / magenta family, with the dirty brown of feral rabbits thrown in, and silver / platinum accents. It's going to be coloured fairly startlingly, I hope. I'm going back to my roots.

The seriously awesome animation meme.

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 03:40:05 GMT

Classic Disney
--------------
[x] 101 Dalmatians (1961)
[x] Alice in Wonderland (1951)
[x] Bambi (1942)
[x] Cinderella (1950)
[x] Dumbo (1941)
[x] Fantasia (1940)
[x] Lady and the Tramp (1955)
[x] Peter Pan (1953)
[x] Pinocchio (1940)
[x] Sleeping Beauty (1959)
[x] Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
[x] Song of the South (1946)

Score: 12/12

Disney's Dark Age
-----------------
[x] The Aristocats (1970)
[x] The Black Cauldron (1985)
[x] The Fox and the Hound (1981)
[x] The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
[x] The Jungle Book (1967)
[x] The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
[x] Oliver and Company (1986)
[x] Rescuers, The (1977)
[x] Robin Hood (1973)
[x] The Sword In The Stone (1963)

Score: 10/10

The Disney Renaissance
----------------------
[x] Aladdin (1992)
[x] Beauty and the Beast (1991)
[x] Hercules (1997)
[x] Hunchback of Notre Dame, The (1996)
[x] The Lion King (1994)
[x] The Little Mermaid (1989)
[x] Mulan (1998)
[x] Pocahontas
[x] The Rescuers Down Under (1990)
[x] Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

Score: 10/10

Disney's Modern Age
-------------------
[x] Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)
[ ] Bolt (2008)
[x] Emperor's New Groove, The (2000)
[x] Fantasia 2000 (2000)
[x] Lilo & Stitch (2002)
[x] Treasure Planet (2002)

Score: 5/6

Pixar
-----
[x] A Bug's Life (1998)
[x] Cars (2006)
[x] Finding Nemo (2003)
[x] The Incredibles (2004)
[x] Monsters Inc. (2001)
[x] Ratatouille (2007)
[x] Toy Story (1995)
[x] Toy Story 2 (1999)
[ ] Wall-E (2008)

Score: 8/9

Don BluthM
---------
[x] All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)
[x] An American Tail (1986)
[x] Anastasia (1997)
[x] The Land Before Time (1988)
[x] The Secret of NIMH (1982)
[x] Titan AE

Score: 6/6

Claymation
----------
[x] The Adventures of Mark Twain (1986)
[x] Chicken Run (2000)
[x] Corpse Bride (2005)
[x] James and the Giant Peach (1996)
[x] Nightmare Before Christmas, The (1993)
[x] Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
[ ] Coraline

Score: 5/6

CGI Glut
---------------------
[x] Antz
[x] Happy Feet (2006)
[x] Kung Fu Panda
[ ] Monster House (2006)
[ ] Polar Express, The (2004)
[x] Shrek (2001)
[x] Shrek 2
[ ] Shrek The Third

Score: 5/8

Imports
--------
[x] Arabian Knight (aka The Thief and the Cobbler) (1995)
[x] Fantastic Planet
[x] The Last Unicorn (1982)
[ ] Light Years
[x] Triplets of Belleville, The (2003)
[ ] Persepolis (2007)
[ ] Waltz With Bashir (2008)
[x] Watership Down (1978)
[x] When the Wind Blows (1988)
[x] Yellow Submarine (1968)

Score: 7/10

Studio Ghibli
-------------
[x] Grave of the Fireflies
[x] Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
[x] I Can Hear The Sea
[x] Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
[x] Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986)
[x] Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979)
[x] My Neighbors The Yamadas
[x] My Neighbor Totoro (1993)
[x] Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) (U.S. Title - Warriors of the Wind)
[x] Only Yesterday
[x] Pom Poko (Tanuki War)
[x] Porco Rosso (1992)
[x] Princess Mononoke (1999)
[x] Spirited Away (2002)
[x] Whispers of the Heart
[x] Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea.

Score: 16/16

Satoshi Kon
-----------
[ ] Millennium Actress (2001)
[ ] Paprika (2006)
[x] Perfect Blue (1999)
[ ] Tokyo Godfathers (2003)
[ ] Memories - "Magnetic Rose" (1995)

Score: 1/5

Shinkai Makoto
------------
[x] She and Her Cat (1999)
[ ] Voices of a Distant Star (2001)
[ ] The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004)
[x] 5 Centimeters per Second (2007)

Score: 2/4

Other Anime Films Released In The U.S.
(either shown at indie theaters / colleges or available for rent / purchase at some point)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[x] Akira (1989)
[x] Appleseed
[x] Appleseed: Ex Machina
[ ] Arcadia of My Youth (U.S. Title - Vengeance of the Space Pirate)
[x] Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2003)
[ ] The Dagger of Kamui (U.S. Title - Revenge of the Ninja Warrior)
[ ] Dirty Pair: Project Eden
[ ] Fist of the North Star
[ ] Galaxy Express 999
[x] Ghost in the Shell (1996)
[x] The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
[ ] Lensman
[x] Macross: Do You Remember Love (U.S. Title - Clash of the Bionoids)
[x] Metropolis (2001)
[ ] Neo-Tokyo
[x] Ninja Scroll
[ ] Patlabor the Movie
[ ] The Professional: Golgo 13
[ ] Project A-ko
[ ] Robot Carnival
[x] Robotech: The Shadow Chronicle
[ ] Silent Mobius
[ ] Space Adventure Cobra
[ ] Steamboy (2004)
[x] Sword of the Stranger
[ ] Unico and the Island of Magic
[x] Urotsukidoji: The Movie
[x] Vampire Hunter D
[x] Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust
[ ] Wings of Honneamise: Royal Space Force

Score: 15/30

Cartoons For Grown-Ups
----------------------
[ ] American Pop
[x] The Animatrix (2003)
[ ] Beavis & Butthead Do America (1996)
[ ] Cool World
[x] Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)
[x] Final Fantasy: Advent Children
[ ] Fire & Ice
[x] Fritz the Cat (1972)
[ ] Heavy Metal (1981)
[ ] Heavy Metal 2000 (2000)
[ ] Hey Good Looking
[x] The Hobbit
[x] Lord of the Rings
[x] Lady Death
[ ] A Scanner Darkly (2006)
[x] South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)
[ ] Street Fight (AKA - Coonskin)
[ ] Waking Life (2001)

Score: 8/18

Other Movies I Can't Categorize
-------------------------------
[ ] Animalypics
[ ] Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon The Movie
[x] Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)
[x] Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
[x] Batman: Gotham Knight
[x] Batman & Mr. Freeze: Sub-Zero
[x] Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman
[x] A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1969)
[x] Race For Your Life Charlie Brown
[x] Bon Voyage Charlie Brown
[x] The Brave Little Toaster (1988)
[ ] Bravestarr: The Movie
[x] Charlotte's Web (1973)
[x] Fern Gully
[ ] G.I. Joe: The Movie
[ ] Gobots: Battle of the Rock Lords
[x] He-Man & She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword
[x] The Iron Giant (1999)
[x] Justice League: The New Frontier
[x] My Little Pony: The Movie
[x] The Prince of Egypt (1998)
[x] Powerpuff Girls: The Movie
[ ] Ringing Bell
[x] Road to El Dorado, The (2000)
[ ] Rock & Rule
[ ] Starchaser: The Legend of Orin
[ ] Superman: Doomsday*
[x] Transformers: The Movie (1986)
[x] Wonder Woman

Score: 21/30

Art is useful (haha my icon is all ironic and shit).

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 03:16:58 GMT

There's a thread in Pagan Forum that I can't reply to (keep getting a text-based error message, boo), so I'm going to write my reply here. Because...well...I do't know what else to post about today.

Anyway, the base question was 'is art useful?' Most people replied that aside from it being kind of aesthetic and mostly nice to look at, it mostly wasn't practically useful. One artist even replied that he thought the process of art was useful for him, but that he didn't see why it mattered to anyone else.

I wrote this:

I think art is useful, including on a practical level. I'm going to stick to the visual arts, because it's what I know and it's what I've studied.

Art is mentally stimulating. Anyone who has ever owned an animal responsibly, or been interested in animal research, knows that mental stimulation is very important to prevent degeneration of mental AND physical health. For monkeys in a zoo, mental stimulation might come in the form of hiding their food. For elephants, it might come in the form of training them how to paint and select different colours. And of course for humans, it comes in the form of everything from reading to writing to viewing art to having conversations and so on.

Art that is purely aesthetic can stimulate endorphins and even adrenalin in the body. Endorphins are important for those prone to depression, and a person who has enough inspiring art in their lives tends to be healthier than someone who doesn't. This is why some therapists are now starting to implement 'inspiration books,' where the client actually cuts out and pastes down all the pictures that make them feel good or safe; in other words, trigger chemical reactions that start to help ameliorate the worst affects of depression.

Art therapy itself, as a separate form of therapy, has shown immense success where cognitive forms of therapy have failed, particularly in child and adult survivors of sexual assault - one of the most damaging forms of harm out there. In that sense, art is not only aesthetic, but absolutely, definitely, practically useful. Especially when one considers that many survivors of sexual assault (particularly childhood sexual assault) are not really useful members of society themselves, until they have processed the harm they've experienced.

Art therapy is a mechanism that enables many to end up making money / providing shelter / finding healthy relationships for themselves. It is a nonverbal way of expressing an atrocity that frequently resists verbalisation, and all of the art therapies - journalling, dream work, sandplay, dance, music etc. - are considered extremely useful, if not indispensable, in the arsenal of a trauma counsellor for that reason.

Art on a political level is useful in getting people thinking. Recently, there was a controversy in Australia regarding a photographer who had, as one of his subjects in an exhibition, photos of naked children. The continent got involved in a very inflammatory debate about whether this was child pornography. Kevin Rudd himself, our Prime Minister, even got involved. The art itself was instrumental in getting many people to decide whether the line between art/harm was, and where they stood on the position of child pornography in general. People who would never go to an art gallery usually, or weigh in on the subject, became suddenly vociferous about expressing their beliefs and their stance within the community. It strengthened some community bonds and weakened others. Without the art in the first place, this continent-based debate would not have occurred.

The visual arts are also something that present an idea 'instantly' (though repeat viewings enrich the meanings behind something). Unlike a book, which requires the time taken to read it. Or a song, which requires the time taken to listen to it. Art is received in the brain in the first instant that it is witnessed. As a result, the physiological and chemical responses we have to it, tend to be pretty immediate. Most people know almost straight away if they love, hate or 'meh' a picture. In that sense, art can deliver instant messages in a way that even conversations cannot. It makes it very useful as a delivery method in our communication systems - this is why so many graphic designers exist to communicate meaning through art in advertising, logos and so forth.

*

Anyway, now I'm off to have a shower.

Rabbit luau with rabbit leis.

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 06:14:12 GMT

My life has been hijacked by strange rabbit things.

Sydney is looking a lot like mars right now

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 01:12:24 GMT

As it's going through a dust storm rather unlike any other

Australia is seriously just one of the most awesome places in the whole world.

Feeling very bad for the asthmatics in Sydney though. Take care of yourselves!

[Art] Dear Little Brother

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 02:13:59 GMT

I toyed with the idea of calling it 'deer little brother,' but I thought that would be lame. So I didn't...

Dear Little Brother

Based on the fairytale, 'Little Brother & Little Sister,' told by the Grimm brothers.

The sister holds her brother, wounded in the hunt. She looks out onto the world, defiant but also resigned to a cruel fate; dependent on the bounty of the the wild to survive, and the mercy of others.

Detail of the roe deer. There are like four bazillion colours in that head.

38 x 51cm / 15 x 20 in
Original for sale
Crescent illustrator's board, technical pens, pencil and aquarelle, acrylic and pigment.

[Wildspeak] I rock the casbah (Totem Dictionary Update!)

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 01:54:27 GMT

I have updated my wildspeak website with about 60 new animal totem files. Everything from maned wolf, to pipistrelle, to velvet worm, to oriental small-clawed otter (and a few mainstreamers like jaguar too). These are keywords only, or keywords and general descriptions; but still, progress!

This brings the total number of animals represented on my website - which is totally free, and costs nothing more than bandwidth - to about 150. Sheesh.

Yet another thing I can gleefully cross off my to-do list. Man, I am so fucking sick of HTML right now. Lol.

[Art] Two White Ravens, as totems.

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 09:06:39 GMT

Two White Ravens

My 'take a break' artwork! I heart this piece, it was spontaneous, though it was a theme I'd been wanting to express for some time. And I've been obsessed with white ravens for a long long time. Both for shamanic reasons, and because well - white can be shiny and iridescent too!

Photo for the shinyness. Yay iridescence. It makes me squee, if I could make just about every surface on this planet iridescent or refractive or metallic or opalescent or pearlescent or whatever... I probably would.

18.5 x 20.5cm (or 7.4 x 8 in)
illo's board, fineliner, aquarelle, pencil, metallic and iridescent paint

Click for my love! ;)

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 01:08:47 GMT

[Art] Blue Bird of Paradise, Wallace's Standardwing and Greater Bird of Paradise

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 09:32:08 GMT

Wow, three at once!
Heh.
I miss doing these.

Blue Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea rudolphi)

The blue bird of a paradise is often considered the loveliest of all the birds of paradise (it's not my favourite, but it's certainly beautiful!) Found in the mountain forests of New Guinea, it is known for its stunning display.

The Blue Bird of Paradise as a totem animal represents: (not exhaustive)

The sacredness of mountains and forests, to be beloved by many, looking at things from a different perspective, inversion, aesthetics, the value of beauty, beauty for beauty’s sake, being concerned with the material aspect of things, polygamy and polyamory, spreading your love around, generosity, high status within a community.

18.5 x 20.5cm (or 7.4 x 8 in)
illo's board, fineliner, aquarelle, pencil, metallic and iridescent paint

Wallace's Standardwing (Semioptera wallacii)

Is a bird of paradise that is alone in its genus of Semioptera. It lives on the Spice Islands of Eastern Indonesia. Like almost all birds of paradise, the males are polygamous, and during their display are known to leap up to five metres high.

The Wallace's Standardwing as a totem animal represents: (not exhaustive)

Discovery and wonderment, connection to fairy / faerie mythology and magic, aesthetics, the value of beauty, beauty for beauty’s sake, being concerned with the material aspect of things, polygamy and polyamory, spreading your love around, generosity, high status within a community.

18.5 x 20.5cm (or 7.4 x 8 in)
- Original available for sale - $100 USD
illo's board, fineliner, aquarelle, pencil, metallic and iridescent paint

Greater Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea apoda)

The greater bird of paradise was once known as the legless bird of paradise, as early skins didn't have legs; and so people assumed that it was a heavenly bird that just floated wherever it needed to go to feed upon nectar. An avian gift from the gods! Greater birds of paradise live in lowland hill forests throughout New Guinea and Indonesian Islands. They have been hunted to extinction in some regions, for their plumes.

The Greater Bird of Paradise as a totem animal represents: (not exhaustive)

Symbology of heaven and heavenly aspects, feeling threatened, being exploited, aesthetics, the value of beauty, beauty for beauty's sake, being concerned with the material aspect of things, polygamy and polyamory, spreading your love around, generosity, high status within a community.

18.5 x 20.5cm (or 7.4 x 8 in)
- Original available for sale - $95 USD
illo's board, fineliner, aquarelle, pencil, metallic and iridescent paint

[Art] Gretel.

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 03:41:06 GMT

Gretel

A portrait of Gretel from 'Hansel and Gretel,' showing her post fairytale, with the goose that helped them across the lake, the pearls she stole from the witch, the tear showing where she started and the flames showing where she finished.

Gretel is one of my favourite fairytale characters. She started out weak and tearful, and ended up strong and compassionate.

38 x 51cm / 15 x 20 in
Original for sale - $600 USD
Crescent illustrator's board, technical pens, pencil and aquarelle, acrylic and pigment.