Totemic Beasties - Hedgehog and Eagle

If your Totem is the Hedgehog you are gentle and protective. You can hear the voice of the earth clearly, and often know the secrets that hide beneath it - and how to uncover them. You dislike chaos and must protect and defend the truth. If things happen that you do not like, you have a tendeceny to hide from them, rolling yourself up, instead of facing them head-on - which can sometimes not be to your advantage.
Element = Earth

If your Totem is the Eagle you are swift and strong. Your ability to see far and wide has made you very wise and you make a wonderful guide and teacher.
Element = air

Postcrossing Madness and an Armageddon Update

Well, Armageddon went okay. I didn't make a fortune, but in the time I was there I made back the money I had invested in it and a wee bit of profit. I sold only four original artcards - much of the rest was sketches and a few of my prints. And most of it went to one couple, but that's okay ^^

Consequently, I still have a bunch of Chimera to trade. The ones that sold were the flea/elephant/crab, the gecko/tiger/monarch and the venus flytrap/mantis/squid. So if you are interested in any of the other ones, note me for a trade.

I am also addictively trading postcards on Postcrossing and recently received a lass in Estonia to send to. She collects communication related postcards, and although her profile lists that she prefers not handmade, I went and made one anyway.

She may well hate it, but... I have hunted high and low for any actual postcards in that theme but to no avail.

It is called "Kereru Post"

I also now have contacts in: Costa Rica, Belarus and Romania to write to.

And I have received these ones:

From Germany

From Ukraine

From Taiwan

From Finland

From Finland

Last Lot for Armageddon

Due to a bit of confusion, my art did not make it to me for Armageddon on saturday :( Or at least not for sale! Therefore, I have to sell a certain amount of it today to even start recouping costs... Anyhow, I have made another half dozen Chimeras:

Fairy Wren/Chincilla, Snail/Rabbit, Frog/Moon Moth
Elephant/Flea/Rainbow Crab, Monkey/Brine Shrimp

So please, come along and visit me and maybe infest in some miniature art! I also have prints for sale too, ranging from $1 - $5 depending on size/quality. Or you can commission me.

More for Armageddon

Giraffe/Toucan/Palm Tree
Seahorse/Dragonfly/Snake
Tiger/Gecko/Monarch
Condor/Elephant Seal
Sparrow/Cat/Daisy
Man-O-War/Fox/Praying Mantis

I wonder if $15 per card would be too much to ask of people?

BIG thanks to Amii for the huge pile of ATC blanks. I've a sketchbook for Armageddon (and several pens of various thicknesses). But I do so love my ATCs pre-cut as I just don't have the knack to do it correctly with my little guillotene.

Armageddon

For those of you who have ever harboured a desire to meet me or whom happen to be a geek living in Christchurch city, New Zealand, than I have some good news for you. I will be attending the Armagaddeon convention this year not for my regular workplace but for me. Look for me on Sunday morning when I shall be wearing a "I like Making Mutants" t-shirt. I will have limited numbers of prints and original Art Cards for sale.

Here is a sample of what I will have on offer ($10 each):

There will also be a few Pokemon Art Cards for sale, some Chimera Colouring books and I will be undertaking small commissions/challenges.

Armagaddeon takes place at the Christchurch Town Hall on Kilmore Street for the weekend of the 27th and 28th of March. I will be there as a DeviantArtist.

And then two weeks later - I'm getting married!

Puppies!

For Ms Bunni. Here's her two beloved pooches, Odie and Jackson.

Mickey Visits Aotearoa

This was drawn for a fellow I was randomly selected in Postcrossing.com, he lives in Portugal, so I had to send him something handdrawn, even though I don't know if he will appreciate it.

He collects Mickey postcards, so here is my rendition of everyone's favourite cartoon mouse in the New Zealand forest. Clad in his swanndri, his stubbies (ugh) and tramping boots, he has met up with a kakariki and a kiwi. That's a cabbage tree and a silver fern with koru in the background.

Because Mickey is harder to draw than one might think, I used a "how to draw Mickey" lesson for this illustration. If you want to draw Mickey yourself, here is the link: http://www.malanenewman.com/mickey_mouse_fullbody.html

Christchurch, the Garden City

Welcome to my hometown, Christchurch. Where I have lived over half my life. It is a flat city, built on what was once the Canterbury Plains. In the distance to the east, the Port Hills form a natural barrier. They are the remnants of a now dormant volcano, its crater of which has become Lyttelton Harbour. The central city is represented by the cathedral, a fine and elaborate example of English architecture now sadly shadowed by skyscrapers (small by Honolulu standards though) and surrounded by a sea of flat white tiles that mark out Cathedral Square. Around the city centre trundles a number of restored trams, carrying visitors to the Art Centre, the Museum or just on a regular old tiki-tour. The Avon river cuts through the center, providing a pleasant picnic spot and also home to the hundreds of Paradise shelducks that have now taken up residence here. Once a scarce sight, they now dominate the waterways and are really rather vicious to the other ducks. But, at least they're native! The female has the white head, in case you're curious. And occasionally, you'll find examples of Maori art, like the totem pole, rising from the little parks about the river.

This is my city, and I hope you enjoy my art.

Garish Dragons

This brightly coloured fellows are shortly to fly off to Lithuania, of all places! They are all based on different animal species - Iguana, Pangolin and Cassowary. I'm not quite sure about the colours, but people seem to like them, so that's all good!

A couple more New Zealanders and an Arctic friend

Another Whimsical Owl. She is winging her way to the US of A as we speak. She is a Snowy Owl. Found in the far North, of the Arctic Circle, Europe/Russia and Canada/Alaska, I believe.

Gollum Galaxias, a species of Whitebait. This bright wee fellow was named "gollum" after he was discovered in swamps in Stewart Island. And of course for his bugged eyes. He was thought to have a very limited range, but has since been discovered lurking in the waterways and swamps of the Catlins, Southland and even as far north as one Dunedin river.

The Whio, or Blue Duck, is an endemic New Zealander. She lives in the mountains, making her home on fast flowing rivers. Her call is a whistling "whiiiiiiioooo" - hence her name. She forages beneath rocks for invertebrates and scrapes off the algae. The black fleshy lump on the underside of the bill protects it from damage during her feeding.

Aotearoa Map Card

Okay, I'm officially addicted to Postcrossing. It's going to help me get my art into at least another dozen countries (I'm currently on 45). Now my first lot of postcards sent are getting registered, I'm actively hunting down people in interesting countries and offering to send them stuff. This one is for a fellow in Bulgaria.

He collects Map Cards, so I decided it was high time I made one. The actual map was printed off a website very lightly to get proportions correct. Everything else has natural, cultural or architectual NZ values.

Featured are:
Buzzy Bee - popular children's toy, first made in 1948.
Pavlova - meringue dessert named after a ballerina. NOT invented in Australia. Despite what THEY say.
Tuatara - ancient reptile that has been unchanged for Millenium
Greenstone Tiki - maori carving
Cabbage Tree - native plant with irritating leaves (don't decompose and can't go in compost)
Chocolate fish - yummy snack
Maori Pa - Traditional meeting house
Bone Fishhook - Maori jewelery - it is placed next to Hawkes Bay because that's said to be the fish hook that caught Maui's fish (the North Island)
Beehive - our Parliamentary Building, In Wellington.
Kina - dead sea creature
Kiwi - very weird and unique bird
Silver Fern and Koru - natural AND cultura significance.

I will likely be using prints of this to decorate greeting cards etc when I post out stuff as well.

Platypus swims to Croatia

The platypus is one of the world's weirdest mammals. It's genetic coding is partway between reptile and mammal and it lays eggs. Even having seen the real thing, it is hard to believe it is an actual animal. When swimming it closes eyes, ears and nostrils, and effectly hunts via electrolocation. It does this by swishing its head from side to side as it swims, or digging in the river bed with its snout and can detect movements of living things and pinpoint them. Male platypus have venomous spurs which they use in dominance battles with other males. Females have spurs, but no venom.
Other animals pictured here are a yabby, a variegated pygmy perch and a small school of galaxias

Gruesomely cute.

Little is it known that there are four very fierce creatures lurking out there, luring their prey with their outstanding adorability.

They are:
Fennec Fox - a fierce hunter of the desert nights.
Red Panda - a cute and cuddly critter with a taste for human eyeballs
Tarsier - descends in swarms to rip its prey apart
Meerkat - don't pat! This animal has teeth like razors - "The Pirahna of the Savannah"

For the Evil but Cute swap. Animal facts are not real.

And here's a couple of "dud" cards I made whilst trying to get this theme portrayed correctly:

These two were too small, looked odd and the colour bled somewhat into the inking. So they are now in my "rejects" pile.

And hyena grin - I thought I would draw cute animals with bad rep, but whilst she is not a bad rendition of one of these not-quite-noble beasts, she seemed a bit blah for the theme of the swap. I call this piece "Hyena Grin"

She is available for trade.

Starry Night over Hungary

As noted, I discovered Postcrossing recently and have become somewhat addicted. Although I have posted out my first five and are awaiting my returns/receipts of my post-outs. Before I can post another five.

Anyhow, I tracked down a lass in Hungary who would like some of my art. She is quite patriotic and admired my "Starry Night over Slovakia" card and asked - could I do something similar but with her country?

So I googled up "Hungary landmarks" and discovered the beautiful Budapest Parliamentary Buildings.

And here's my somewhat stylised rendition in watercolours and prismas: