Illustration of the day (Nature and us) / Ilustracija dana (Priroda i mi)


Good evening everyone! How are you? I'm sharing this illustration even though I haven't quite finished it. What I found most helpful in terms of productivity as a hobby artist is being consistent. 

I (like everyone else obviously) don't have entire days to devote only to painting. So what I do is that  when I don't have the time or the energy to do a proper painting, I try to set apart some time to do a sketch or a doodle. 

Because really you never know when a doodle or a sketch can be turned into a painting. In anything you do in life, if you invest time constantly, even if it is five minutes a day, you're likely to do some results.

 For example, if you're working on some creative project. Even if you set only a small portion of your time to spent on it, you might end up figuring it all out and finishing it earlier than you thought it was possible. 

How? Even if all you have to give is five minutes of work, those five minutes might make the subject linger in your mind and make you think about it. 

Once you're thinking about it, you might come up with more ideas. So, that's my tip of the day as far as creative hobby activities go. A little bit goes a long way. 

One minute a day doing what you like can sometimes make a difference. I suppose it can be applied to other areas as well. 

Anyhow, I've been working on loads of illustrations today. I managed to finish some of them, but now all. Some of them you might see tomorrow (if I manage to find the time to post them). 








Today I broke out of my routine a bit. I spent some time watching TV today, which is something I rarely do. Not because I think that TV is bad, it is just that ever since I started blogging, I had to cut down on at least some time-consuming habits and I guess TV was the first thing to go. 


The two of us (both sick his fever is way higher) ended up watching one program about animal friendship. It was quite nice, watching TV for a change. Anyhow, there was this farm cat that had her kittens the same day as some ducklings hatched. 

The owners of the farm were afraid that the cat ate them but they discovered that the cat has in fact adopted them and was keeping them warm. The ducklings were nestled in cat’s lap together with her kittens (there was no mom duck in the picture because the farmers just bought the eggs).  

It was so funny once the ducklings got bigger and more active and the cat was all super protective so she kept returning them to the box. She would grab them by the neck and carry them back to the box where she was nursing her kittens and she couldn’t understand why the ducklings won’t stay still. 

Naturally, the ducklings were only following their instincts to go about and search for food because they are born ready to find food for themselves.  Anyhow, the ducklings eventually became grown ducks but they are still very attached to their surrogate mother. It is one happy farm. 



Was it all instinct? I don’t think so. I think that animals are capable of genuine friendship and affection. Alright, perhaps not all of them. I don’t think that spiders can have complex emotions, but all higher animals are capable of it.

 If you look at the behaviour of apes, you’ll be amazed at how similar they can be to us. Not just apes. In this show (forgot its name but it was aired today on Viasat nature if you want to look it up), there was also this example of a cappuccino monkey that adopted an orphan baby monkey of another specie and spent the rest of her life caring for it. Her baby was adopted into the cappuccino community and there is actual footage of it taking the food of a cappuccino male monkey and he is allowing it get away with it- not something that is common at all. 

How to explain it? These cappuccino monkeys have no benefit of feeding and caring for this little creature. They know it is not a member of their specie, but still they protect it and feed it. One could be a cynic and say that it is because this other species is smaller than them so they don’t feel threatened but that doesn’t really explain it. 

markers on paper/ markeri na papiru
I will never remember watching another documentary about a young boy who got lost in the woods.  I don’t remember whether it was in SAD or Canada, but it was one of those two countries. Anyhow, he was all alone in the forest when a herd of reindeer gathered around him. He kept shouting and throwing stones at them but they just kept their distance and stayed near him. 

Eventually the child grew tired and slept on the dirt. In the morning when the rescue team found him, there was no snow around him even though it was snowing heavily all the night. The reason why there was no snow around him is because once he was asleep the herd protected him from the snow with their bodies. The entire herd kept him warm and slept in a circle around him.

 Had they not done that, the child would die of hypothermia. 


The point of all this? I believe in miracles. In love. I believe we all (not just humans but animals as well) are more than a sum of our instincts. We’re more than that, we can be more than that and we should be more than that. We should never be too old to believe in miracles because they happen. All we need to see them is to open our eyes. 
UPDATE: MORE FASHION ILLUSTRATING LINKS



Comments

  1. I love this painting - very pretty! xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jako mi se sviđa ilustracija i kombinacija boja, samo tako nastavi! Mislim da je stalan rad ključ svega, pa makar i po 10ak minuta dnevno, ovisno koliko vremena uspijemo uloviti. Uživaj u nedjelji, nadam se da će temperature pasti i da ćete novi tjedan dočekati zdravi! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hvala, slažem se u potpunosti...kada se na nečemu radi stalno tu je uvijek neki rezultat.

      Delete
  3. Bellissimi disegni come sempre e ottimi suggerimenti, dovremmo sempre trovare un po' di tempo per i nostri hobbies!

    Shopping Girls

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lovely illustration as always :)

    http://badassvampire.blogspot.rs/

    ReplyDelete
  5. Such lovely illustration, as always! I'd love to see your next paintings))

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ah, this is a wonderfully different illustration Ivana - one of your most colourful! The green hair is a surprising addition, very fun :) I'm glad to hear you enjoyed winding down to watch TV for the first time in ages - next step is to start watching Christmas films?! haha ;)

    aglassofice.com
    x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank you sweetie:) I love crazy hair colour, but not enough for me to bleach my hair ha ha :)

      Delete
  7. Intersting story about the boy, but not surprising. Our do instinctively knows, that our daughter is the one to protect. When she is away from home he instinctively protects me, but when she comes home, he goes back to his natural instinct and knows that she is the youngest and I suppose the weakest in his ... mind ;) . Great tips about routine in keeping up with our hobbies. Cheers - Margot :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank you Margot:) that's so sweet. Cats and dogs can be so protective, it's adorable really.

      Delete
  8. Lovely illustration and a beautiful post, well written, Ivana. Like you I do believe in miracles. Any reason why you think spiders cannot have complex emotions? You can train them as pets as well. Sorry to hear you guys are sick again. Hope you'll get better pretty soon.
    xox
    Lenya
    FashionDreams&Lifestyle

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I somehow don't see spiders as capable of the kind of emotions dogs, birds or cats have...but I guess everything is possible.

      Delete
  9. Beautiful illustration
    www.alessandrastyle.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. Dear Ivana, hopefully you both feel better know! It is interesting what you saw on TV and as usual I like your conclustions. In this context just yesterday I read an amazing article in our local newspaper: there was in Wales a dog who adopted 3 kittens. And now the kittens are escorting the owner on her walks like the dog do this as the kittens obviously believe they are dogs :) There was even a picture and it was so cute how the dog and the kittens walked in a row :) Love as usual your painting: the mix of pink and green belongs always to my favs!
    xx from Bavaria/Germany, Rena
    www.dressedwithsoul.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank you Rena...such a sweet story!!!!!!!!!

      Delete
  11. ha, the ducklings sound so cute!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. So true about consistency being an important element of any hobby since it helps one to keep at the practice while also developing your skills. I've been wanting to learn a new language and I want to be sure I have enough time to keep up with it. Sorry you and your husband are ill. Do take care and feel better soon.

    ReplyDelete
  13. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Boje su fantasticne i optimisticne :-*

    ReplyDelete
  15. wow, i see another big and cool paiting. i love this big mouth - with this red lips - cute...;-) and wow, green hair??? why not...;-)

    great post.

    Jennifer

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

All your comments mean a lot to me, even the criticism. Naravno da mi puno znači što ste uzeli vrijeme da nešto napišete, pa makar to bila i kritika. Per me le vostre parole sono sempre preziose anche quando si tratta di critiche.

Popular posts from this blog

Jadrolinija ferry ride, travelling from Split to island Hvar (outfit post)

REPAINTING AND REPAIRING AN OIL ON CANVAS, A PAINTING OF ASSISI ( ITALY)

FASHION ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY:A SUMMER DRESS (STAEDTLER PENCIL WATERCOLOURS)

FASHION ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: LBD AND VINTAGE VIBES

CIRCUS THEMED CREATIVE ARTS & CRAFTS ( DIY ) IDEAS FOR BOTH KIDS & ADULTS

HOW TO STYLE A BROWN FAUX LEATHER COAT?

TIPS FOR A MORE SUSTAINABLE EASTER CELEBRATION

How To Wear Yellow In Summer? + Mostar's panorama + Goranci restaurant

BOOK REVIEW: MURDER IN THREE ACTS, A NOVEL BY AGATHA CHRISTIE