Weekly Drawing: week 6

Barry was definitely not a morning person

We are currently in the process of moving house, so I'm a little preoccupied at the moment. When I find the time, I plan to colour Barry the Dugong illustration. With blues, greens and beams of light streaming down through the oceans surface.

Weekly Drawing: week 5

Robin Hood (Erithacus rubecla)

Weekly drawing: week 4

 William Dampier and the chocolate drinking pirates 

Anchored off the Pearl islands the buccaneers would raid the mainland "to get coppers for each ship, having now so many men, our pots would not boil victuals fast enough, though they kept them boiling all day" They also plundered the sugar works to get extra sugar to cook up with their cocoa.

In 1587 cocoa drinking was a popular drink in the Spanish courts. English privateers and pirates captured a Spanish ship loaded with cocoa beans they dimissed the cargo as useless. However by 1650 cocoa drinking was becoming trendy with Londoners wanting to taste flavours of the New World.

This drawing was inspired after reading:
A pirate of exquiste mind: explorer, naturalist and buccaneer: The life of William Dampier
by Diana and Michael Preston

Weekly drawing: week 3

Monkey Mermaid

Monkey mermaids

As Gondwanaland broke apart. Madagascar moved away from Africa. The suborder Haplorhini (monkeys, chimps, gorillas, and Homo sapiens) attempted to navigate the Mozambique Channel. Unfortunately many were terrible navigators forced to adapt to swimming the Indian Ocean indefinitely. Overtime the species evolved into Fish Monkeys. Commonly know as Monkey mermaids.

One night in Melbourne

Sounds crazy but it was a great way to get out of Sydney for the weekend. Leaving Sydney 7.00am Saturday morning and leaving Melbourne 8.45pm Sunday gave me the feeling of a full weekend away.

Long-Nosed Bandicoot spotted at Sydney Airport

My list of recomendations:
Degraves Espresso Bar baguette and coffee
City Basement books
Melbourne Open House Royal Exhibition building

Lord of the Fries I had a mini burger deal which was surprisingly perfect

The Roof top bar
The New International Bookshop
35 City Circle Free Tourist Tram
National Gallery of Victoria I have wished to see a Eugene von Guerard Exhibition for many years. Von Guerard was a colonial landscape painter, with a keen eye for the natural environment. Commissioned by many colonialists to paint their newly acquired properties. I love that he would often celebrate the original owners of the land. His work is a powerful celebration of Australia.

Weekly drawing: week 2

Henry had to be careful. He was easily over excitable.