Dragonfly and Elephant

Dragonfly - an entry for Doodlewash

 

Sky

My entry for Weekend Sky

Photo taken in December at Jervaulx Abbey

 

Balloon Fish and Hare

Balloon or Porcupine Fish

My entry for Friday Face Off

 

Tree at Belsay Hall

Photo taken last October in the grounds of Belsay Hall. I could remember taking a photo of this tree many years before so I looked through my archives and found the photo below, also taken at Belsay in 2006. It looks similar but the one above has more and thinner branches. The tree is next to the same fence though and has a cliff type background. Perhaps there are two similar trees there.

My entry for Thursday TreeLove

 

Creatures

I drew these one night when I couldn't sleep. I painted them later.

 

Crook Hall and Gardens

Crook Hall and Gardens, Durham, UK

This was a popular tourist attraction and wedding venue previous to the corona virus but then it had to be sold. I was worried it may go into ruin again but the National Trust bought it last year so it has been saved. [although it is more expensive to visit] If you would like to read about the history of the place which goes back to to 1217 click this link.

This is also my entry for Thursday Doors

 

Canines

I painted this collection of wolves and foxes after seeing a TV program about canines or canids or is it canidae? They include foxes, wolves, jackals and other members of the dog family. I chose wolves and foxes to paint.

Ethiopian wolf

Maned wolf

Grey fox

Swift fox

They have faces so I'm joining in with Friday Face Off

 

Happy Valentine's Day

I did this watercolour sketch for the Doodlewash challenge - Hearts

I drew this one during one night when I couldn't sleep. I didn't paint it then though.

 

Aye-Aye

Aye-Ayes are an endangered species.

Aye-Ayes can be found only on the island of Madagascar. They are under threat because of deforestation, poaching and persecution. Natives of Madagascar believe they are harbingers of bad luck and if an aye-aye points it's long skinny finger at someone, they are marked for death. Others believe that they can creep into homes and use their tapping finger to pluck out the hearts of humans, therefor when they are seen they are killed on sight.

   I'm linking with Friday Face Off

 

A Little Bit Fishy

Digital characters created on a tablet on a hand painted background.

I was in the loft the other day looking for something [which I couldn't find] and thought I should start throwing things out to make it easier to find things and get around. Here are two things that have now gone which I made at college many moons ago.

Baked Boys

 

Windows at Beamish

 Windows at Spain Fields Farm, Beamish, the newest 1950's building opened.

My entry for Monday Window

Archway

Archways at Jervaulx Abbey

My entry for Which Way Photo Challenge

 

Seats at Beamish

 

 1950's Spain's Field Farm at Beamish

My entry for Pull up a Seat Photo Challenge

Mountain Gorilla

 The mountain gorilla is critically endangered, they are threatened by habitat loss, poaching, disease and war. 

I'm linking with Friday Face Off

Bees

 Another endangered species, the bee, the pollinator of plants that we eat to exist

 According to Friends of the Earth - Since 1900, the UK has lost 13 species of bee, and a further 35 are considered under threat of extinction. None are protected by law. Across Europe nearly 1 in 10 wild bee species face extinction.

Causes of bee decline include habitat loss - less forage and shelter, climate change, pesticides, pests and disease, and invasive species.

Crook Hall

 

My entry for Pull up a Seat Photo Challenge

My entry for Which Way Photo Challenge

Bolam Lake

 My entry for Thursday TreeLove

Giant Otter and Orangutan

 More endangered species

Giant Otter - the main threats to this lovely animal are habitat degradation, river contamination due to mining and agriculture, over harvesting of fish and hunting for it's skin.

Orangutan - numbers have declined rapidly since the middle of the 20th century due to human activities. These include hunting, unsustainable and often illegal logging, mining and conversion of forests to agriculture.

Watercolour and fine liner

It's Friday Face Off

Vaquita

I'd not heard of this animal until I was doing research into endangered species.

They are the most endangered marine animal in the world. 

According to the Marine Mammal Centre 

Vaquitas are only found in the shallow waters of the northern Gulf of California, Mexico. This area is abundant in fish and shrimp, and many people depend on fishing for their livelihood. Most fishers in the area, whether they are legally catching fish and shrimp or illegally fishing for totoaba, use a type of net called a gillnet. Gillnets are the primary reason for the vaquita’s decline.

The Environmental Investigation Agency

The vaquita is not hunted in its own right – it is collateral damage, killed accidentally in the illegal gillnets set primarily for totoaba fish, the dried swim bladders, or maw, of which are highly sought-after in China.

 

They drown because they get tangled in the nets!