Sketches from a visit to the California Academy of Sciences

That first step is always the hardest...

Snowy Owl

I'm fascinated by Snowy Owls. They're so odd looking, yet so beautiful at the same time. They always look pissed too.

Triumphant Return

Quickie sketches from the zoo today. Glad to be back there. I miss it :(

Madagascar Pissing Cockroach

A little known cousin of the Madagascar Hissing Cockroach. Every animal will have its defense if corned ya know.

Exhibit C

"To the owner of the black cat,
Your cat has killed two of my birds, and I'd like this to stop. Please keep your cat where it belongs, OFF OF OTHER PEOPLE'S PROPERTY!! I don't want any more of my pets to die.

Thank you"

This was an actual note I received not too long back regarding my dare I say innocent cat Tuna. I was letting her outside during the day while I worked, not only so she'd stop bugging me, but so she could be out enjoying fresh air and a new environment. It was weird, most of the time I'd let her out, she'd just walk straight to backyard garden and go to sleep. Apparently there's more she was up to. Now, there's another black cat a few doors down from us that could be responsible for this, but I have the sneaking suspicion it was Tuna. Unfortunately it was the headless bird corpse I found her gnawing on one day that gave it away. Granted, I don't want my cat killing anyone else's pet, so needless to say we keep her inside now where she finds other things to destroy. I feel like the parent of a criminal who constantly defends their child.

When will she stop?!

It's a love/kill relationship with my cat...

A.O.T.D. (Animal of the Day) Ostrich

Well I did this quick gesture sketch for an Ostrich painting, and ended up liking it. So yeah....maybe later I'll do a "complete" painting.

Everyone's A Comedian

There's said to be hierarchy amongst Emperor Penguins, one that all the others follow, but no one wants to follow you when you're a inconsiderate smart ass.

A.O.T.D. (Animal of the Day) Butterfly fish

I thought it was time I throw back in some of my cartoon friends using Flash.

A.O.T.D. (Animal of the Day) Artic Skua

Wait, can all birds see 20/20?

A.O.T.D. (Animal of the Day) Clown Fish

Thanks to Finding Nemo clown fish have been given some recognition, however there's an interesting fact about them that wasn't included in the movie. They are amongst a select group of animals that has the ability to change its sex. All clown fish are born male, but will change sex in order to become a dominant female of a group.

A.O.T.D. (Animal of the Day) Hyena

Looking similar to dogs, hyenas are more closely related to cats. As the human population continues to grow on Earth, in Africa they come into more contact with them. The Maasai people of Kenya and Tanzania actually leave their dead to hyenas.

A.O.T.D. (Animal of the Day) Lop Eared Rabbit

This is one of those image I had to sort of force myself to stop doing, otherwise I would've just kept "picking" at it forever. It brings up the classic question in creating art "When is a piece actually done?" I actually just try and set a time limit when I create my images for this blog. This falls in line with the fact that I think that art that's too ultra detailed becomes very static and stiff.

A.O.T.D. (Animals of the Day) Zoo animals

Made a visit to the Oakland Zoo today, so here's a few sketches from there. It's warm standing out there in that sun. We've been having a bit of a heat wave here. When you're in the moment drawing, you forget that your neck is burning off. Now I'm literally a red neck

A.O.T.D. (Animal of the Day) Cockatoo

So, just trying to push realism again with my painting. Cockatoos belong to the family of true parrots. They're most recognized by the crest above their heads that rise when they're alarmed and excited.

I've read, not sure if it's true or not, that the late crocodile hunter Steve Irwin was scared to death of parrots because a cockatoo nearly bite his nose off when he was a child. Just ironic that that's the animal he would fear in life.

A.O.T.D. (Animal of the Day) Monarch Butterfly

Well it's Spring and 'tis the season for renewal and rebirth. Of course what better to represent than with this insect beginning its life as a caterpillar and then making its metamorphosis into a beautiful butterfly.

I sort of feel like I'm stuck in a cocoon right now beginning to emerge as a renewed self. It's been quite an interesting past month. I broke and split open my nose in a diabetes related incident. I woke up one night with an incredibly low blood sugar. then proceeded to lose consciousness and have a seizure. Upon having this I fell and hit my face on the door frame and damaged my nose. This is not easy for me to think of or write about, but it isn't something I can just put aside and ignore (which I have done at times in the past). I've been a type 1, insulin dependent diabetic for 23 years now. Having it certainly includes some ups and downs, but regardless it's made me who I am for better and for worse. It was a painful lesson for me to learn not to take my diabetes for granted by any means, and to learn from this to improve my discipline and outlook towards it. I plan to live a long life with this and be as healthy as possible.

Luckily I have a wonderful person in my life to help me when I need it. I am now a married man, and am proud to say feels quite good. My wife and I are a true yin and yang relationship, as she is everything that I am not. This helps us compliment each other quite well. She's taught me to challenge my beliefs and outlook on life constantly and I believe I've grown tremendously from being with her. I am one who truly believes everything happens for a reason, and me meeting Sarah was meant to be.

I feel there's a more spiritual side developing in me as well. I've long been known by some to be a staunch atheist, but I'm beginning to wonder if times are changing. This does not by any means translate as me being a "born-again", in fact I do not and will never have any religious affiliation. Even through my years as an atheist, I held the belief that there was more to life than what we see, and that there was more to life after "death". Now this is what I believe or would like to believe, but ultimately I don't know what will happen at death and if a "god" will be there to greet me, and quite frankly nobody does. To clarify though, I'm not totally sure what I believe yet, but it's developing and more than anything I'm learning the benefits of having a spiritual side. Maybe this whole life as we know it is the caterpillar and cocoon stage, and once we "pass", our spirit is the butterfly?

A.O.T.D. (Animal of the Day) Squirrels

There's two squirrels that live in a huge tree next to my house. They run through the trees in between the houses and often hang out in the one in front of my office window. They bicker and mess around like an old married couple.

Hula Cat

I miss Hawaii :(

A.O.T.D. (Animal of the Day) Ring Tailed Lemurs

Well it seems like an eternity since my last post, but here we go. It's been a roller coaster last few weeks both in my work and personal life, but all is good and I'm getting back on track.

Not sure why I picked lemurs to kick things off again, but I've always been kind of mesmerized by their long, beautiful tails, that like many animals are used in communication. At the SF Zoo they have a huge, open area for all the lemurs to run around, where they're referred to as the 'leaping lemurs'. They're one of those animals that are just fun to watch, as they effortlessly jump from tree to tree high above the ground. Lemurs are on the endangered list and aside from being popular residents at zoos, they are only found on the African island of Madagascar. Now I'm getting nostalgic...I better get back to the zoo this weekend...and hopefully to Madagascar someday :)