Adventurous Seas

Just like life, a lot is going on below and above sea level.

This is another seen from my latest Capybaras and Friends Colouring Book.

Happy Monday!

Art vs Artist II

I kind of liked the art vs artist set up and I thought it would be nice to reflect on some of my other drawings that I did throughout 2021.

So here is another one. People and animals in ink and watercolour from last spring.

Art vs Artist 2021_Melanie Franz

Capybara Madness

My latest Capybara Colouring book is online!

If you are looking for a last minute Christmas present, you can get it here.

A colouring book for young and old with 15 unique and fun drawings, featuring capybaras and their friends.

Throughout the book you will also learn more about these adorable rodents, as each image is accompanied by fun facts.

Colour them in and bring them to life!
The drawings are one sided full page images in order to avoid bleed through of other images. Take out the page after you are done and frame the image. I would love to see your finished pages!

Cover Capybara colouring book Melanie Franz

Capybaras everywhere

I seems like I will be able two more of my open projects just in time for Christmas!

# 1 is a short story about Mr Fox. I am just in the last review stage.

# 2 is another Capybara colouring book! Yes! I am still in love with these poker face rodents and have so much fun drawing them. That’s why I put together another colouring book (as I am still working on my writing skills) with 15 brand new drawings! The drawings are of course again accompanied by old and new fun facts about capybaras. (Here is the first book if you haven’t heard about it yet.)

So if you are still missing a last minute Christmas present or cannot get enough of Capybaras (just like me), then this may be for you.

Here is a sneak peek. It will be available online by the end of the week.

Capybara pool party _ Melanie Franz

Time to freshen up

After roughly 10 years I thought it is also about time to change the header image of my website. Played around with different versions, this is what I settled on for now.

Any comments and feedback are more than welcome.

Spot-billed Pelican

Last but not least the Spot-billed pelicans who got his name because of the spots on his bill….

There are 8 living different pelican species today. This pelican can be found in southern Asia from southern Pakistan across India east to Indonesia. It is a bird of large inland and coastal waters, especially large lakes.

Great White Pelican

The Great White pelican lives in the shallow swamps in Africa and is one of the largest flying birds in the world.

This pelican’s yellow gular pouch has capacity for 13 liters of water or up to 4 kg of fish.

Pink-backed Pelican

The pink-backed pelican can be found in the shallow lakes of Africa, southern Arabia, and southern India.

It is a relatively small pelican, although by no means is it a small bird. Its length is from 125 to 155Ā cm, wingspan is 2.15–2.9Ā m and body mass is from 4 to 7Ā kg. The bill is 30 to 38Ā cm in length. The plumage is grey and white, with a pinkish hue on the back occasionally apparent.

Have a great Monday!

If you do like pelicans and would like to support my art, check out my Society 6 shop.

Dalmatian Pelican

Gorgeous weather today.

This guy looks a little bit dishevelled though. Maybe he also had a wine too many last night.

There are two main populations of Dalmatian pelican. One breeds in Eastern Europe, wintering in the eastern Mediterranean region, and the other breeds in central Asia and Russia, wintering in the Indian subcontinent, Iran and Iraq.Ā 

Australian Pelican

More pelican facts for the weekend.

The beak of the Australian pelican is the largest of all birds. It’s so large and spacious, that it can hold from 9 to 13 liters of water.

When catching fish, they take huge amounts of water into the pouch. Then they move the head forward, pour out the water and swallow the fish. They eat up to 4 kg fish per day.

Brown Pelicans

Brown pelicans are the only type of pelican that dive in order to catch prey. They glide low above the water and when they see a fish they fly to a height of 10 m, fold their wings back and plunge down into the sea.

Pelican Revival

Haha! The pelicans are back. Well, they never fully disappeared , I just got side-tracked by funny capybaras.

This is the American White Pelican. He is able to hold in its bill 11 liters of water.

Foxy Pelican Season

Still looking for a special present, either to treat yourself or someone else? Then look no further!

I finally managed to put up a shop with a couple of illustrations at Society 6 and Red Bubble. They have a great variety of products that you can get these lovely illustrations printed on.

Let me know what you think. Is there anything else you would like to see in it?

How about a little pelican to brighten up your day?

  • society 6 pelican flying Melanie Franz
  • society 6 bag Melanie Franz
  • society 6 sticker Pelican Melanie Franz
  • society 6 pelican sticker Melanie Franz
  • Society 6 pelican Melanie Franz
  • society 6 card Melanie Franz
  • Society 6 - Fox fashion - Melanie Franz
  • Society 6 Fox tote bag_Melanie Franz
  • society 6 phone cover Melanie Franz
  • society 6 shower curtain Aerial Hoop Melanie Franz
  • society 6 beach towel Pole Fitness Melanie Franz

Flying High II

Start of a new week. The pelican series will come to an end soon. As soon as I finish my pelican book!

pelicans flying_Melanie Franz

I realized after drawing the pelican above that I have drawn him before. See below.

5 years are between both drawings. Which one do you prefer? I remember that the one below took me ages to finish. The one above was pretty much a 10 min sketch!

2015 Pelican_Melanie Franz