Armadillos meaning “little armoured ones” in Spanish have a pretty impressive armour.
Did you know that the giant armadillo sleeps about 18 hours a day?

I want to listen to the radio….
Somehow Mr Fox sneaked back into the picture…

Woop! Here I was waiting all September for Inktober to start and then the month started without me noticing!
I haven´t touched my ink and pen since January. I totally forgot how much fun it is and it was surprisingly easy to get back into it. Certainly easier than the previous years. I´m going to follow the official prompt list again and maybe something else… Let´s see what happens.
Just follow the light…

Another snapshot. Just opposite of Munal (Museo Nacional de Arte) in Mexico City.
I´m trying to be less lazy and put more details into the drawings. I don´t like drawing buildings or urban sketching I realised. So I consider this a good exercise to get back into it and work on perspectives and on my patience.

Continuing with my Mexico travel sketch book…
Saw these two patiently waiting in front of a bar on a night out in Roma in Mexico City. What better car theft protection than that?

I went to a Caravaggio exhibition at the Museo Nacional de Artes in Mexico City back in spring 2018.
I have to admit that I was a little bit disappointed (maybe also my fault as I did not look at the information properly), but they only had one painting by Caravaggio. The rest of the exhibit was about him in form of a multimedia show and artworks by other artists that got inspired by him.
Nevertheless, I learned a lot about his style and especially his use of light and shadow. The museum in general was definitely worth a visit, as it is in a stunning building. Especially the permanent exhibition was great. That´s where I spotted the little horses from yesterday.
Below my impression of the only painting by Caravaggio at the exhibition.

I am not sure at which museum I saw these little horse by the Mexican sculptor Olivero Martínez. I think it was at the Museo Nacional de Arte in the center of Mexico City.
I thought they were absolutely beautiful. Each horse is made from a different material, ranging from marble to bronze and stone.

I fell in love with Mexico because of its contrasts and colours. Especially in Mexico City you encounter so many different people. These fancy dressed girls on Avenida Horacio in Polanco, looked ready to hit one of those upscale restaurants you can find here.
I just went to that barrio for lunch and a stroll. Most of the places are way out of my budget.

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

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!

So this week once again just flew by quickly.
As the weather forecast is fantastic for the next couple of days, I will be off to a hiking trip in the Icelandic highlands. I also promise that the pelican series will come to an end soon. Latest when Inktober starts!
Have a great weekend everyone!

A lone swimmer…

The brown pelican is a unique feeder that makes impressive dives from above the surface. They fly just above the surface of the water, then circle high, and when ready dive headfirst, plunging under water to catch fish.
They are able to dive from as high as 30 meters! The deeper the meal the higher the dive.
This pelican landing turned out purple for artistic expression.

Who has seen a baby pelican? I haven´t. Something unusual about the populations of coastal pelicans is that baby pelicans are never seen.
Pelicans nest far away in inland or remote locations in large breeding colonies. The pair chooses a relatively flat nest site on gravel, sand, or soil near other pelicans at the same stage of the breeding cycle. In southern, drier regions, they nest amongst sparse vegetation. In forested regions, sites may be under shrubs or trees.
Both parents feed their young.

From about 25 days old, the young pelicans gather in “pods” or “crèches” of up to 100 birds. The parents recognise and feed only their own offspring.

Pelicans are very social birds. They live in large colonies composed of several hundreds of birds. A group of pelicans has numerous collective nouns, including pod, scoop and squadron.
Happy Sunday everyone!
