Tim Jeffs Art: rainforest

Showing posts with label rainforest. Show all posts

Friday, May 9, 2014

Tapir-ing Off

Drawing a Baby Tapir

Prints, posters and signed fine art reproductions are available

for purchase in my Etys shop at:

www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Baby Tapir. 11x17" Ballpoint Pen and Ink wash

When it comes to my list of favorite animals it starts with 1) Rhino, 2) Elephant, and 3) tapir. I love animals that look like they've lived on the planet since the dinosaurs ruled, and these three creatures definitely fit that role perfectly. The tapir showed up about 20-30 million years ago, and are actually decedents of rhinoceroses and horses. That's pretty cool fact!

Something that always struck me about the tapir is the contrasting look between an adult tapir and the infant. The infant tapir has an incredible camouflage spot pattern that is so unique and only last during infancy, while the adult has a very plain looking hide. The detailed patterning hinds the baby from predators, and is lost as the tapir matures. Naturally I had to draw a baby. Their extremely cool looking black and white pattern on the baby tapir just screamed "draw me"!

Besides my aquatic creatures, this was one of my first full body animal drawings. I always find it challenging to draw the whole animal since so much of my art focuses in on the extreme detail of the animals features. But this time it just worked so well. I hope to do a whole series of full body animals too, so I'll consider this one the first in a series.

Today, all four species of tapir are considered to be endangered. This is mainly due to deforestation and habitat loss, and over hunting of tapirs by humans.

Here are some photos taken during my drawing process

Prints, posters and signed fine art reproductions are available

for purchase in my Etys shop at:

www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Jenna's "Isadora"

Drawing a 3-toed Sloth

Prints, posters, signed fine art reproductions, and cards are available

for purchase in my Etys shop at:

www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

"Isadora" the 3-toed Sloth. 11x17" Ballpoint Pen and Ink wash

When I asked my daughter Jenna which animal I should draw next she didn't hesitate for second, she said a Sloth! And not only did she say a sloth she said "Isadora". Jenna has an extremely deep love of sloths. And actually the sloth that was the model for this ink drawing was one that Jenna literally had a up close encounter with while me and my family were vacationing in Costa Rica last summer. Costa Rica is incredible! If you haven't gone yet, GO! The people are so friendly, the landscape is amazing, the rain forests are captivating, the wildlife diverse and spectacular.

Jenna had a mission on her trip to Costa Rica. Finding her very own sloth in the wilderness all by herself. As we spent the week going from the volcanic mountainous area of Arenal, to the cloud forest of Monteverde, to the coastal rainforest of Manual Antonio Jenna's eyes were peeled for a sloth hanging in the tree tops. On the 2nd day of our trip she saw her first wild sloth moving from one tree to another, but it was spotted by someone else riding in a van on our way to catch a boat ride across Lake Arenal, so to Jenna this didn't count. Over the next few days we had 3 more sightings. Two sightings by our rain forest guide in the Monteverde Cloud Forest, and one by a Coffee plantation worker while visiting Don Juan. Again, these didn't count for Jenna.

She was getting discouraged and by our very last day her hope had pretty much faded. After a very long and beautiful walk in Manual Antonio National Park through the coast rain forest we stopped on the beach for a picture in front of an iguana that was sunning itself. Just as I finished taking the picture Jenna screamed (with Joy). A sloth was climbing down the tree directly behind her and was already almost at her eye level. She was the first to see it, she claimed it as hers and named it on the spot..."Isadora".

Sloths are incredible creatures to watch in the wild if you are lucky enough to see them when they are on the move. Their movements are so slow and deliberate it is almost to hard to explain. You have to see it with your own eyes. We stopped and watched Isadora in amazement for almost an hour. It was truly a special moment.

I'm not going to go into details about sloths here. But if you really want a good read about this amazing animal read this article The Sloth’s Busy Inner Life from the New York Times. It explain them in a whole other light.

And if you want to help sloths you can make donatations to the Sloth Sanctuary in Costa Rica.

Jenna sighting her very own Sloth in Costa Rica
and naming it "Isadora"

"Isadora" climbing right down the tree to her

"Isadora" stops and poses for the camera

The green color in their fur is actually a species of algae

"Isadora" changing trees

A close up

"Isadora" stops to look back at us from her new spot high up in a tree

Here are some photos taken during my drawing process

Prints, posters and signed fine art reproductions are available

for purchase in my Etys shop at:

www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Friday, September 27, 2013

Now it's Personal!

Helping to Save the Jaguars of Panama

Drawing "Darien" for the Panama Wildlife Conservation

Exclusive Conservation Print Available for purchase.
A percentage of each sale will go directly to help Panama's amazing Jaguars

www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Darien. 11x17" Ballpoint Pen and Ink wash

When I opened an email from Dr Luis Urena, a Panamanian Biologist living in London, a few weeks ago I instantly stop what I was doing. After seeing my artwork and my love of animals he wrote me requesting assistance in developing a piece of art to promote his cause, saving jaguars in his native Panama. He had decided to start a Conservation group for Panama called "Panama Wildlife Conservation" and was dedicating his time and efforts into building awareness and saving Panama's incredible natural resources and endangered animals.

Attached to his email were personals photos that he had taken of Darien, a rescued jaguar from the illegal animal trade in Panama. Darien is living in Summit Botanical Gardens and is being rehabilitated. As soon as I saw his absolutely beautiful photos of Darien my thoughts were "I have to be a part of this!" The photos he send me (you can see more of them lower on this post) were so intimate, such up-close and personal images of this absolutely incredible creature. As I looked at the images I felt like I was looking into the eyes of a animal that I knew.

I instantly connected with Luis's photos because they took on the same purpose as my drawing. To have to viewer stop, and look into the face, into the eyes, of creature that needs help, that has feeling and emotions, and has astonishing beauty. Something all of us need to realize and make a different in protecting.

I wrote back to Luis and told him I wouldn't do a commission for him, but instead would gladly volunteer to create a piece for his cause which he could then use for his organization. It was my first chance to use my art for the purpose of giving something back to the animals I love so much.

Over the next 3 days I drew Darien and send the finished drawing back to Dr Urena, which he was very excited about and immediately implemented into the image to promote his cause. My Darien drawing will be printed on t-shirts, coffee mugs and other merchandise to raise Charitable funds for Conservation efforts in Panama. Something I am very proud to be a part of. I'm also going to contribute a percentage of any sales that I make of my "Darien" print in my shop to the Panama Wildlife Conservation. I'm offering a variety of prints of Darien for sale which you can see here:

www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

My hope is to do this for other endangered animals. I love to draw, I love animals, and I love to draw animals, and if something I love to do can help the subjects that make me motivated to create, then I've finally made the personal connection I've been looking for.