On To Bigger Things

The Lost Ladybug, Coccinella Novemnotata. Pen and ink on 19"x22" Bristol Board

Read more about the sad story of New York state's threatened and endangered insect and how you can help its resurgence.

I am posting today because I promised my dearest sisterfriend Bella Sinclair that I would post if she did. Remember when blogging was popular? However, one had to have something interesting or worthwhile to blog about. These days everyone is on Facebook where people post photos of their breakfast or dinner and sometimes a selfie in a bathroom. Have you ever taken a photo of yourself in a bathroom? I don't see a virtue in that act. In fact, I find it rather sad and forlorn that one has to take of photo of oneself because nobody else cares or bothers to take the photo for that person. Some Facebook users are extreme sharers. What they share and how often they share provide an interesting human study. I have a Facebook profile. My friends are mostly family and relatives, childhood friends and classmates from elementary, high school and university and several blog friends. These days I post my art mostly on Instagram and Behance.

As you can see I don't have much to say except sharing another drawing. On to bigger things, I have decided that I will use up all the 19"x22" Bristol Board pads I have in my possession. With the number of pads and the rate at which I am drawing, I would probably be drawing for the rest of my life. I hope my wrist and eyes could hold up to the task. Afterwards, I still have oil paints and canvases to use. That is why I seem to be everywhere but hardly there.

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Dead Man's Fingers

Empire: Eukaryota

Kingdom: Fungi

Phylum: Ascomycota

Class: Sordariomycetes

Subclass:Xylariomycetidae

Order:Xylariales

Family: Xylariaceae

Genus: Xylaria

Species: X. polymorpha

Binomial Name: Xylaria polymorpha (Pers.) Grev., (1824)

Common Name: Dead Man's Fingers

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Cyathus striatus

Early this year I drew Cyathus striatus on a Moleskine journal and posted it here. Cyathus striatus or Fluted Bird's Nest mushroom looks like a miniature bird's nest with tiny eggs called peridioles that contain spores. It has a hairy exterior and grooved (striated) inner walls. It is a saprophyte, growing on dead or decaying wood but may also be found on wood chip mulch. 

Well, today I was watering some plants and noted these tiny objects on the mulch. At first they looked like nail heads but when I looked closer I discovered that they are Cyathus striatus mushrooms. See how small they are on the image with my pointing finger. Pretty cool hey? Look at the periodoles. This phone camera is not bad either. Yay!

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Ophiocordyceps sinensis or Caterpillar Fungus

Whoa! A blog post. I have been absent from my blog since I became engrossed with gardening. What an awesome activity. I get to plant something and watch it grow. It is a great test of patience but I am learning. I did start a Moleskine journal consisting of mushroom illustrations and have been posting them on Instagram. I like Instagram. It is lazy and impersonal. Oh yes, I have been studying mushrooms, though it has slowed down because of June. June is the last month of our fiscal year and so many of my projects at work are being implemented. Hope you are all well and safe.

Ophiocordyceps sinensis or Caterpillar Fungus, is a fungus that infects and parasitizes a species of ghost moth caterpillars found mainly on the Tibetan plateau. This fungus is highly valued in Traditional Chinese Medicine and its high demand and price have caused ecology issues in the Tibetan plateau and Ophiocordyceps sinensis to be considered a threatened species. 

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A Happy and Blessed Easter

In the midst of God's blessings, goodness and beauty, the Devil cannot be denied. It will always get its share. In the midst of man's struggle for peace are the war mongers, terrorists, bullies and intimidators. In the midst of righteousness are the liars, perverts and lechers. Even in the world of the fungus, behold Boletus satanas also known as Satan's Mushroom or the Devil's Bolete. Like evil, it is poisonous, avoid it. A happy and blessed Easter to all.

Above, Boletus satanas, Devil's Bolete, Satan's Mushroom. Pigment ink and colored pencil on Moleskine sketch book. This is part of a daily quick sketch and mushroom study project I started last month. I have always been fascinated by mushrooms since I was a child. We had a jackfruit tree where Auricularia auricula-judae mushrooms grew and I remember lopping them off from the bark, imagining they were monsters' ears. I post these images on Instagram and my Facebook page. I have connected with mushroom enthusiasts who share their mushroom photographs from all over the world. Such an amazing array of mushroom species. I am having so much fun learning about the Kingdom Fungi. L to R Top row: Amanita caesaria (Caesar's Mushroom), Pleurotus ostreatus (Oyster Mushrooms (Blue)), Armillaria mellea (Honey Fungus). L to R Middle Row: 

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Amanita phalloides - Death Cap Mushroom

Amanita phalloides. Ink and colored pencil on 11"x14 Bristol board.

This drawing and my research on this mushroom was inspired by an entry on my daughter's journal when she was 10 years old. She used to write facts and info on the corners and sides of her journal pages. One day in the kitchen, she read one of her journals and it compelled me to know more about it.  See how our children inspire us? Do your children inspire you to study and learn more?

This is Amanita phalloides also known as the death cap. It is a deadly poisonous basidiomycete fungus, one of many in the genus Amanita. It causes major organ failures in hours and death in about 10 days. Read about A. phalloides here.

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Stinkhorns

It stinks. I am sick. I have fever and chills. Bedridden. Tired and weak. Nothing else to do but rest and drink tea and have chicken noodle soup. I slept and took naps. I dreamed I was a Lilliputian and the giant trees in The Lord Of The Rings were stomping on the ground. I started drawing the Death Cap mushroom (Amanita phalloides) then I read about the Kingdom Fungi and discovered stinkhorns... These are 4"x6" illustrations on 11"x14" Bristol board or Cotton paper.

 A new project on Behance:

The Beauty of Stinkhorns of the Kindom Fungi

Left to right, Top to Bottom: 

Lysurus gardneri, Lysurus periphragmoides, Mutinus caninus

 Lysurus mokusin, Phallus indusiatus, Mutinus elegans

 Left to right, Top to Bottom:

Phallus hadriani, Phallus ravenelli, Phallus rubicundus

 Aseroe rubra, Colus pusillus, Staheliomyces cinctus

Now available through Society 6

 Oh don't they look good framed?

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Volvariella Bombycina

Volvariella bombycina. Colored pigment ink on 11"x16" cotton  paper.

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Mycena inclinata

Mycena inclinata. Doubtfully edible. Colored pigment ink on Bristol board. You know, if you don't care of things that bug you, they behave like a fungal infestation. They keep popping up. So better use a fungicide or get rid of that infected part.

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Amanita muscaria

Used some colored pigment ink pens this weekend...

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Sunday Illustrator

Weeping Willow.  8"x11" Archival pigment ink on 14"x17" Bristol board.

   

Thank you for kind and supportive comments on my previous post. I woke up with back pain today, probably from fatigue and exhaustion from Friday night's on call duties. I kept getting paged every hour or two just as soon as I dozed off to sleep after resolving each problem. By 5:30 AM on Saturday I was so tired. I spent Saturday morning asleep in bed. when I woke up, I was still sleepy and then achy, I started this drawing. I had to use a magnifying glass to draw some sections of this drawing. The woman's face is tinier than the fingernail on my little finger and the mushrooms are even smaller.

Instead of sitting down, I decided to draw standing up, so I set up one of my oil painting easels that converts to a drawing table but instead of setting it flat, I set it upright so I can stand. This is what I did today. I drew standing up to nurse my back pain which felt better if I stood up straight. However, because I was asleep yesterday, I was not able to do laundry. I did laundry today and in between each load and folding, I continued drawing. I finished it this evening. What do I see? I keep boring myself. I am drawing the same things, trees, grass, rocks, plants, woman...ah!

I hope you had a blessed and happy Easter Sunday celebration.  This week I will be preparing for my project implementations next Sunday. It will be a busy week for me. Wishing all of you a safe, productive and happy enjoyable week. Tsup!

P.S. My back is better. It was just from being up one night from being on call. A weekend of rest helped a lot. Thank you for your concerns. Tsup!