Tag: elephants

"Rising From The Ashes, Hope For Australia" (Art for Australia.)

Posted on by omordah1

Hello everyone, I sincerely hope that this finds all of you well, and finding healthy ways to cope within the ongoing crisis. With so much to deal with, I know that asking you to consider other desperate ongoing crisis is asking a lot. As many of you know, prior to the shyte hitting the fan, I had been planning to release prints of a painting I have done for sale, and the proceeds are to go to an organization in Australia that were battling the wildfires, and are trying to save the many creatures impacted by this tragedy. It has taken me a bit longer to get this together. But amid all the chaos, the care givers of these Koalas, wombats, kangaroos, and all the many other creatures impacted by these devastating fires, still need as much assistance as they can get.

Nearly 500 million animals — including mammals, birds and reptiles — have died in bush fires in New South Wales. These numbers are unimaginable. Therefore I am going ahead with this campaign to do what I can to assist. Below is the painting I have done for this effort. (The watermark, -my name- will not be plastered across the front, that is just for online copy-write reasons. 🙂

“Rising From The Ashes, Hope For Australia”

Choosing to paint the legendary phoenix helping the indigenous animals of Australia, came to me while sleeping, and I feel it shows the hope and strength for renewal. The colors are vibrant and these prints are limited first editions. Every monitor is different, so there may be a slight difference in the colors. Either way, I feel you will love it and treasure it as a reminder of resiliency and hope for our world. I will post these on my Etsy site for sale, or feel free to contact me here. Other than shipping and handling, (handling in this case is the cost of the prints themselves, you know what they say about “starving artists”, -not starving, but not wealthy either, heheheh), the rest (most) of the cost will go to the following organization that I have researched called; WIRES, which seems to be an excellent recipient.

WIRES: The New South Wales-based Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service Inc., Australia’s largest wildlife rescue organization, is accepting donations to help fund the rescue and care and treatment of animals affected by the fires.  You can learn more at wires.org.au Prices for each size of these prints are listed below.

Poster sz: 1 first edition sz: 16″x 20″ $35.00 – 3 first editions sz: 8″x 10″ $15.00 ea. – 8 first ed sz: 4″x 5.3″ $ 5.00 ea. ( I will eventually put the original up for either sale or bid.)

I have also done a painting to help save elephants. I will be having some prints made of this and offering it for donation sales to one of the elephant rescue sites that I follow, in the future.

It would be wonderful if those reading this, along with purchasing one of these prints could also pass this on! If more people are interested, I will have more prints made, thus gaining more for this worthy cause.

On behalf of those we can save, Thank you! Be healthy and safe! See you next time!

Inktober In Review; Week Three, Of Ghosts And Men.

Posted on by omordah1

Due to some time constraints, this post is a little late today, so I’ll jump right in to show you the ink drawings I came up with for this week’s prompt words. As I mentioned in the past two posts, if you’re not familiar with Inktober, please see the first post for October. That being said, here are this week’s drawings beginning with day 16, “Wild”. And of course anyone who has been following along, would know that this is a perfect prompt word for me, being that I am a bit fanatical about elephants being free and wild.

Day 17 is “Ornament”, and I thoroughly enjoyed sketching this little drawing for this prompt!

For day 18’s prompt word, “Misfit”, it took me a while to come up with something, but when I did, I just went with it, and I like how it came out. Black cats, pumpkins…and a duck? Sometimes you have to just go with it. I hope you like it! Pretty cute, huh!?

The prompt for day 19, is “Sling”. When trying to come up with something all I could think of was medical devices. Not wanting to go with that, I procrastinated for a while, but then remembered that there is a form of yoga where people hang from long slings. (And I added a bat for the Halloween vibe).

A silly little sketch for day 20, I got an ellie in there, heheh, and a nod to Halloween.

For day 21, the prompt word is “Treasure”, and of course the most important treasure I can think of, (outside of family and friends), is elephants, and sharing the importance of them in this world. They are a vital link in the chain of life, are intelligent, warm sentient beings who know joy, sorrow, and love. They deserve our protection, and respect.

It is the 22nd, and the prompt word for Inktober today is “Ghost”. Very appropriate to the season. Should be a breeze. So to anyone who has been following along, (and you have, right?!) you know that I hate to do the expected. The problem with this is that it gets harder and harder to do. And the word ghost is no exception.

I’m a huge Supernatural fan, the TV show… anyway, with only a short time to do some sketching, it may not be the greatest representation, but I think I pulled it off, and I’m good with it. That’s what counts, that you’re good with what you create. I hope you enjoyed this week’s post and stop back next time to see what I manage to come up with for the last week of Inktober. See you then!

Inktober In Review; Week One, “Enchanted”.

Posted on by omordah1

As a quick recap, for those of you who aren’t familiar with it, Inktober is a fun art challenge that lasts through the month of October. It was started in 2009 by Mr. Jake Parker. An artist who said that he started it as a “way of challenging himself to improve his inking skills, and improve drawing habits.” It has become a fun, (sometimes stressful) way for many other artists to do this as well. Mr. Parker posts a list of words to be used as prompts to get you thinking about something to draw. He does mention however, that people can draw whatever they like, and many people do. I usually try to stick to the prompts. I did post the first two drawings of the challenge last week, so I thought I would stick some older Inktober or Drawlloween (another great challenge), sketches here as well to keep it interesting. (You can see these, and more from a past Inktober challenge on my blog post from July 9th, 2019, “Challenge Me”)

Some, maybe most of the one’s I did last year, had a decidedly more sinister aspect to them. I did this in keeping with the whole, Halloween month theme. I may do some in this vein this year, who knows? The following are the images I’ve done for the first seven days of this year’s Inktober, beginning with Day 1 “Ring”.

As mentioned in my last post, I decided to start out with a simple, easy picture for the first prompt, “ring”. (above), no pressure. You might ask yourself, ‘pressure? Why is there pressure’? Is there a prize involved, (no). Fame, fortune? (Nope). So why do literally thousands of people join in this challenge? Of course I can’t speak for anyone but myself, so I will give you my reasoning. I have no reasoning. No just kidding. I do like a challenge. It makes me think, often way outside the box, and gives me a chance to stretch my artistic chops so to speak. For me there is some stress involved though. And from different comments I’ve read on the Inktober twitter page, I’m not the only one. When I commit to doing something, I like, nay, I am compelled to follow through. Even though I do it basically for myself, I sometimes put pressure on myself. But then I remember the spirit of it, and find it is fun to do, and to interact with other artists and to see what they come up with. Day 2 is “Mindless” I decided not to go into the whole reason of why I ended up re-using an older sketch, as I explained it last week. So if you’re interested and (gasp) didn’t read last week’s post, you can find out why there. 🙂

For day three the prompt is “bait”. Trying to avoid the obvious, I went way out on a limb and did something that is maybe a little too sweet. But I was happy with it, so that’s all that matters, heheh.

Day 4 is “Freeze”. You may notice a little running theme. I had had it in mind to try to do all of my pieces with elephants as central figures. I’ve already missed a few on that. But again, no big deal. I did receive a very thoughtful compliment on this one, and that is always really appreciated. Like I mentioned folks doing this are extremely nice, and encouraging.

Day 5 is “Build”. Again, maybe I’m being a little corny, but this is a subject close to my heart, and if I can influence even one person to be kinder, and to want to help animals, then that’s OK.

When I’m doing any of these challenges, I don’t look at what others have done for prompts until after I’ve done my own so as not to be influenced. Drawings run the gammit from very simple, to extreme crazy-amazing work. I won’t lie, I do feel sometimes that I have to “up my game.” But that’s only for my own benefit. As an artist, I am always striving to stretch. These challenges aren’t a competition, and people are kind and honestly enjoy each other’s work. I highly recommend it for anyone. We are a week in, but you can jump in at any time.

Day 6 “Husky” This was a total “gimme” for me. I have a husky, and she loves to pose. (Really she just lays around a lot.) This is Kota.

Other than when I am painting abstracts, I’m mostly a realist painter. I have always admired fantasy paintings, and the artists who have the ability to bring that to new heights. So this last prompt for the week, “Enchanted” was a little trickier for me. I didn’t want to do anything trite, but again, it isn’t my usual style. After thinking about it a bit, I think I came up with a good mix of realism, and fantasy. Many times when I’m drawing or painting, time slips by me. I have often looked back at a piece and thought how it didn’t seem as if I’d done it, as if my paint brush, or my pencil is… “enchanted”.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I hope you enjoyed it, and maybe learned a few things. See you next time!

It’s “Inktober”, Ya’all !

Posted on by omordah1

Today marks the first day of “Inktober 2019” . For those of you who don’t know, it’s a drawing challenge started by a man named Jake Parker. Basically during the month of October, anyone who wants to join in the fun can! Everyday there is a new “prompt”. You just draw a picture of whatever comes to mind, and ink it, (but I guess it’s not imperative that you ink your drawing.) I like to, as it brings me back to my earlier roots, when I did a lot of ink work. I also like the look. Then go to Twitter, hash tag it like this; #Inktober and #Inktober2019. Let me know if you do, I’d love to see your work!

I’m starting out with a simple one, no pressure. Today’s prompt is “ring”, so I’ve done a ring of ellies! I’m not always able to do one everyday, though I do try. It’s good practice as well as fun. I don’t look at other’s work, until after I’ve done my version of the prompt. I feel this makes it less likely that I would be influenced by anyone else’s work. It is fun to see what other people come up with afterward though!

I’ve already had a stumbling block of sorts. In order to get some momentum, I did a few pictures ahead. For day two, the prompt is “mindless”. Rather than do something expected, (as it is Halloween season) and do say, a zombie, I decided to do something a little different. I had also decided that I would somehow incorporate elephants into each picture, sort of a running theme. So I drew a person mindlessly killing a beautiful animal. (I can’t even write it, uugghh). Technically, it came out pretty well. I wrote on the pant leg of the person, evil, and death, and on the poor animal, good and life. However. after looking at it, I realized, no matter how strongly I feel about this subject, (and I do), I couldn’t bring myself to post this. It is more my style to draw the beauty of what we can, and are losing, rather than go for the shock value. So I shredded it. I instantly felt better. I’m sure some would say that I should have posted it, but again, not me. I’ll leave that to others, and fight my battle, my way.

Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter; “Sweeney Todd”

I have posted a lot of my past ink sketches before, so if you’ve seen them, here are some of them for you to enjoy again! heheh. And if you haven’t… enjoy!

“Mindlessly Waiting”

I’ve decided to use the drawing of me waiting for a movie to start as my 2nd day Inktober post; “Mindless” . #Inktober #Inktober2019 (Although it was also pretty mindless, in this case it was pleasant to sit and chat while we waited.)

Happy Inktober everyone! See you next time!

An Elephant’s Life

Posted on by omordah1

“Big Blue”.

It is always exciting for an artist, to have someone love and appreciate their work enough to purchase it. I’m happy to say that, “Big Blue” has found a home and is on it’s way as I type this. As some of you may have guessed, I’m obsessed with elephants. I care a great deal about their plight in the world today. I urge everyone to boycott all institutions that use elephants, or any wild animals for so called “entertainment” purposes. What happens to these loving, family orientated, exceptionally intelligent, caring animals, who have critical thinking, and mourn their dead, at the hands of humans, is beyond horrific. I will always try to keep this blog on the lighter side, and primarily about art, but this is something that touches my heart. I am gladdened that there are others who also love and appreciate the treasured gift that we have in the elephants of our world. Speak up, be ethical, do what you can, when you can. Their existence depends on it.

From The Sketchbook

Posted on by omordah1

“Greeting The Newest Member Of The Family”

Finding Time For Your Creative Life.

Hi everyone! Welcome to my new art site, oMordah at omordah.com! I’m excited and grateful to be able to start sharing with you some of the insights, lessons, musings and helpful ideas that I’ve learned the hard way over the years; to help make living your most creative life a little easier.

Ready? Let’s Go!

Today let’s tackle what in my humble opinion is one of the biggest stumbling blocks to a consistent and happy creative life; time.

Without getting into the whole science of time, alternate timelines and space time continuum, one thing to realize is that we all have the same amount of time in a day. And although it’s not always up to us how we use that time—we have kids, pets, work, and bills to pay—there are ways to make time work for us.

So how do we do it? How do you do all the things, stay fairly sane and healthy, and still manage to live a creative life? Well, here are a few good things to remember:

  • Know and respect your own limitations. Sometimes I wake up in the morning, and feel like I can tackle the world. I make a real plan, and set out with the energy and excitement of a puppy with a new ball, to get it all done before dinner. But then by the third item on my list I’ve had road blocks, and unexpected things happen, and I’m already getting tired. But I still feel I have to finish it all! This is discouraging and a fast track to giving up. Instead go ahead and make a plan, but be realistic, and fair to yourself, and understand that you may not always get everything done, or even half—but, make that plan, and take the first steps.
  • Start slow. By this I mean, if you’ve never ever crocheted anything, maybe start with a smaller project. Something that won’t take too long, and you can feel a more instant form of gratification when you actually finish it (And maybe don’t buy the most expensive wool hand carded from Peru, enough yarn to cover a small car, or set out to paint 5 masterpieces in a month). No one needs that kind of pressure. You’ll feel happier, and more likely to move on to the next stage without it. Or even if you have done it many times, but know you only have so much energy at the time to go around, be honest with yourself.
  • Take yourself seriously so others will too. This is a hard one. You’ve made your plan, and have all of your tools ready—you’re psyched. Then one of your family members needs something, or a friend calls, or one of a thousand other things come up. What do you do? It’s very easy to say, “oh, yeah, OK, it’ll only take a minute” or “I’l get back into this when I’m done”. This is energy sapping, and more than likely you won’t “get back to it”. If you’re serious about that painting, or practicing that cello, lock in your time. Lovingly make it clear to others you’ll help them out or be there another time, but right now you’re in the middle of something. Better still, let it be known ahead of time, you’ll be busy at that time. It’s usually better not to get into specifics that others (and yourself) can talk you out of. Also, enlist help when you can.

So you’ve made a realistic plan, and let everyone know that you’re serious. You stand in front of that canvas, or computer, and … nothing happens. You suddenly can’t think, and it’s just not working. Now what? Is this it? Have you done everything that you can to set the stage to begin your creative life, and now suddenly you can barely remember your name, never mind create something?

Don’t give up! This happens to everyone. Take some pressure off, but don’t completely walk away. If you had planned to start a painting and that blank white canvas is just staring you in the face and mocking you; stop, grab a cup of tea or whatever your favorite calming tool is. Then sit down in the same space as your canvas, and maybe sketch or doodle. Take a ten minute breather and check out some photos online of something in line with what you had planned to paint. Use these few minutes to get re-inspired. If you still don’t “feel it”, don’t beat yourself up—come back to it on your next planned scheduled time and try again.

OK! Now you’ve cared enough to set a schedule, and be firm about others (and yourself) respecting your time. You’re excited, and maybe a little scared. But you’re ready, you can do this! Show the world (and yourself) what you’ve got!

Remember to stop by omordah.com for more inspiration and ideas to help you in your creative life.

Thank you for checking out my blog and supporting this new adventure! I look forward to seeing you back here next time!

I can’t be remiss in thanking my producer, and site designer Nikki Moore. Please check out her amazing Anime style plushies at BleedingHeartsCrafts at etsy.com/shop/bleedingheartscrafts