Playing with drawings on the puter

I've been enhancing and experimenting with drawings on photoshop.  It's great to achieve instant effects.  Catching up a little bit with technology.  Some blurring, green filter, and darkening

Raven Drawing in Progress.

Raven Selfie / Work in Progress

Drawing pages from my sketchbook on Ravens.  I've been very inspired by the work in deviantart. so currently experimenting with new techniques

The Secret language of Birds by Ian Anderson

I think I must be influenced by this album.  I watched a documentary a while ago with test subjects who had taken mushrooms I think or it may have been lsd not sure, he spent time in nature listening to birds and believed he could understand what the birds were communicating to each other.  I would love to think this was true.  If a person was in tune enough maybe its possible.

Selfie inspiration

I was inspired by this selfie of Mike.  I love this tattoo.  I have highlighted it with gold relief liner and added a symbol I made up that represents marriage.  A visual language I've imagined raven's use. 

This is the Symbol.

This selfie I think is a very dark mysterious and broody image a lot like Mike and Ravens it has an atmosphere I want to explore.  His eyes are concealed and looking through the mobile it has a sinister edge which I like about this photo. 
Ravens are often thought as sinister because of their associations and myths around bad luck and death.  Although like many people I find them very beautiful.

I watched a documentary about Raven intelligence, interesting they can recognize human faces and remember them.  Apparently birds are similar to us because they are ocular centric and the way they communicate.
I have long been interested in the zodiac and Chinese horoscope.  That is how peoples personalities are compared to animal qualities and traits.  Like loyalty associated with dogs and quick wits like rats.  I think animals we like the most say something about us and it's a way of understanding and connecting with them.

Raven Sketchbook Page

I've been reading a book by +Austin Kleon Steal like an Artist and have been inspired to share the process and progress of ideas. 

here's a page from my sketchbook

The inspiration to explore Ravens and crows as a subject, came from sketching Mike.  He has a beautiful Raven Tattoo on his shoulder.  I been looking at a lot of interesting websites with cultural and mythological information and birds magnetic sense. 

This first page I was playing and experimenting over the top of a photo.  The dots and lines I imagined could be how the birds sees its environment like a language.  I am developing the idea in another sketchbook and have doodled on sketches and photos imagining the bird sees and understands through patterns.  Almost in a lyric way even a bit like music notation. 

Here's an example

Raven symbol for love

 

 

 

 

 

 

 This doodle I created from a word written in my sketchbook I used gold relief outliner.  This I imagine is the Raven's symbol for 'Love' from the sounds they make and their mysterious beautiful qualities.

Projects in Progress

Hi I have eight sketchbooks I'm working on.  I've been inspired by my partner and his love knowledge and connection with nature to do a project about birds namely Ravens and one of the first 'birds' Archeopteryx.
I've always loved birds well I'm an urban gal so pigeons, seagulls and crows mainly.  I've learned so much about the natural world from my partner.  Watching nature programs, documentaries on the Great Apes and Dinosaurs and discovering Pikas through David Attenbourgh.
We recently went to Bristol Zoo.  I got so much out of it because of this knowledge and awareness that is a much richer and deeper appreciation of animals than I ever had before.  Because Mike has a passion and knowledge it has rubbed of on me so I want to share the progress and process of this and other projects I'm working on for my own development and hope to make images I can sell in the future.

Just to let you know I had a general awareness of animals.  I had a pet cat and love animals, usually having to get to know them a bit to feel comfortable or build a rapport like I am with people. So here's some images I had taken at Bristol Zoo.  

Inca Tern

I took this photo at the end of the day at Bristol Zoo on a manual camera.  My photos were getting a lot better as the day went on.  I'll post some of the not so good ones.  I was learning as I went on although I haven't learned to operate the camera yet.  I had the setting on auto and wished I took my long lens with me.  I think what I learned and why my pictures were getting better was to focus with my eye while taking the photo, what was interesting about the subject and for me, it was the beak.  As a beginner I was so happy with this.