Good morning world! What are you having for breakfast? Personally I stick with big black coffee and a banana.
Another seagull. Interesting fellas… If you missed the first one, here is yesterday’s seagull. Should I add a seagull print to my Etsy shop?
Have a wonderful day!
Do you like seagulls?
Sticking to exploring different kinds of animals. Seagulls are weird though. We occasionally have huge seagulls sitting on our balcony. Looking at their beaks, I definitely wouldn’t want to get too close to them.
No deer in the headlights… deer with no lights. Happy Monday!
Dogs and llamas… is this the inktober theme…
From sketch to inked page.
Had a contributing artist joining me today for my drawing session. She was very excited to add spots of colour to the page.
As mentioned previously, I gave in to my need to draw cute dogs… Do you have a favourite animal?
Happy weekend!
Half way through…and first storm of the season! Winter has officially arrived. Perfect time to stay in an be creative. It’s the first time that I am having fun with a sketchbook and trying out different things. Are you keeping a sketch book?
Alight more dogs, but I am trying to mix it up again with. Sausage dogs are the weirdest creatures. And it’s been a long time since I drew a capybara. Here is the whole collection, in case you missed them. You can also find the odd Capybara in my Etsy shop.
I love ink. And yes it can get messy…
I am still a dog person. I just love drawing dogs.
Adding some colour to the black and white… good to dust off those watercolours as well.
What is your favourite medium?
The journey continues….
Secretary bird. I had to look up if he actually exists, with all those AI images I wasn’t sure. And he exists indeed, this cool looking dude.
The secretary bird (Sagittarius serpentarius) is a unique, large raptor native to sub-Saharan Africa, known for its impressive snake-hunting abilities and distinctive appearance.
He stands about 1.2 to 1.4 meters (approximately 4 to 4.5 feet) tall, making it one of the tallest birds of prey. It has a wingspan of over 2 meters (6.6 feet).
The first 10-15 animal took definitely some effort. Effort to sit down, and effort to sketch. Now I am at the point where I am starting to have fun.
I have been using Pinterest a lot to look up reference images and create boards. I only now discovered that Pinterest is drowning under a flood of AI-generated junk. What once was a useful platform for photographs, has turned info an AI dump which is flooded with ads. I didn’t notice it at first because I hadn’t been on Pinterest in months, but it became especially apparent when looking up images of birds and suddenly I was faced with only AI generated non-existent bird species. Beside the creepy look of AI generated imagery, they look like the same same garbage the more you look at them.
I have been listening to a lot of illustrator and artist podcast and the discussion with the issue of anything AI generated. While there are the fast-fashion consumers that don’t see anything wrong with anything AI generated, there are the traditional artists. Art lives through its imperfections. No human generated art, being it music, painting, sculpture will ever be 100% perfect. They might be close but not perfect. And it is this imperfections that gives the artwork its soul and life.
Have you been noticing that Pinterest is collapsing under the weight of AI-generated garbage?
2025 is the year of changes. Time to embrace them and make the most out of it. The changes are not always positive, but even those are an opportunity for growth and to turn them into positive outcomes. So we are still hanging in there…
You are a flyer too? Check out my Etsy for Aerial Acrobatic prints.
I realized the last post has been a while. I was busy enjoying the sun in the Algarve in Portugal.
Despite the lack of updates on my blog, I have been busy with my Etsy designs and was working on my never ending book project. BUT the end is near and I can hopefully get started on the next adventure one soon!
In the meantime here is a little easter bunny for you.
Download, print, fold, cut and pass it on.
Are you in need of a last minute Valentine´s card or friendship card?
Then look no further. Here is your card to download. Print, fold, cut and voila!
Honey Badger – To my partner in crime
Blue footed booby – To my partner in crime
More you can find on my Etsy.
Let me know which one is your favourite.
Hyvää ystävänpäivää (Happy Friend’s day!) Thanks for following 🙂
Another “friendship” card. Inspired by an Irish friend. Still in need of a last minute Valentine’s card? Take a look here on my Etsy.
I am all into drawing honey badgers again. If you can be anything, be a honey badger!
Printable card available on Etsy.
Yes, I have been busy. Drawing, working, editing illustrations, my first proper commission. So much so that I forgot all about the blog.
Valentine’s day is just around a corner. I prefer Friendship Day, Ystävänpäivä as they call it in Finland. Still missing a card? I put some up on my ETSY Shop.
Melanie Franz 