Eight Days a Week

Drawing a Octopus In Colored Pencil and Ink

Prints, posters, stationery cards, and signed fine art reproductions  

are available for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Octopus. 11x17"  Colored Pencil and ink on paper

As I began to do research on this drawing of an octopus, I became overwhelmed at the possibilities of colors to use. The octopus is part of a group of cephalopods that are skilled in the art of color change. And as I poured through different pictures of octopus I was amazed to see how many colors variations they can achieve. As I read more about them I learned that octopuses also have extremely well developed eyes that detect both the color and intensity of light. By using their excellent vision they can create color patterns that match the seafloor around them therefore being able to become camouflaged from predators. 

I noticed that their skin patterns looked very similar to the patterns in stained glass and decided to try to make my octopus appear to be made out of stained glass. And while looking at stained glass for patterns I came across the colors for my art piece. 

The piece of stained glass which inspired my colors for the octopus

So I now knew what colors to use, and the patterns I wanted to make, so now all I had to do was do it. Easier said then done, this go around. This drawing was probably one of the most labor intensive pieces I've created. I think it took me on and off over 2 weeks to complete. But I really enjoyed creating this one. I learned a lot about color and textures.

I'm finding out that people really do have an attraction for octopus. Theirs just something about a creature that has eight arms, can change color, squirt ink and squeeze itself into a bottle that is simply amazing!

This is also the piece that inspired me to offer my work printed on home goods. I've had a lot of requests for different products with my art on them, so I set up a store on society6.com. You can visit it here where you will find all of my animal drawings not only as prints and framed prints, but as phone cases, throw pillows, tot bags, shower curtains, etc. 

You can buy my octopus on various home goods at society6.com

Here are some photos taken during my drawing process

Here's the finished drawing

Prints, posters and signed fine art reproductions are available 

for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Catching a Crab

Drawing a Blue Crab In Colored Pencil and Ink

Prints, posters, stationery cards, and signed fine art reproductions  

are available for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Blue Crab. 11x17"  Colored Pencil and ink on paper

These little amazing crustaceans are extremely close to my heart. I grew up in Maryland, and all Marylander's know about Blue Crabs. They are a favorite seafood delight to enjoy eating during the summer, and most summers during my childhood my family would have a crab feast. We would make a trip down to the seafood wharf in Washington DC where local fisherman would sell crabs by the bushel. We would haggle between the fisherman to get the best price and head home with a overflowing bushel of crabs ready for the boiling pot. Old Bay seasoning, brown paper table cloths, mallets and claw crackers were all part of an afternoon of hours sitting around picking crabs with friends and family. This is a tradition that I truly miss now living further north in New Jersey were blue crabs are hard to find. If you do find them they now cost a small fortune and are small, not like the jumbo crabs of times past.

My brother Peter as chef during a crab feast

I also spent many hours fishing for crabs with my brother Tony on the coast of Maryland. When ever we had a chance we would head out to the bay with our crab traps, nets, and chicken legs for bait and spend hours trying to get as many crabs as we could. Inevitably getting pitched by a crab as we took them out of the traps. And this crab knows how to pitch! Once they get you they don't let go! They were hard to a catch and on a good day we would get a dozen or so to enjoy as our prize. Crabs are part of my childhood, and they will always be something that I can't wait to enjoy whenever I get the chance. So if you run into someone from Maryland or Virginia ask them about blue crabs. I'm sure you will see their face light up.

Here's some blue crab facts. Their scientific name is "Callinectes sapidus" means "savory beautiful swimmer". A perfect name if you have ever seen one swim. Their life span is 1 to 3 years, and females only mate once in their lifetime. Their range is from Nova Scotia to Argentina. 

Today Blue Crabs populations remain in a serious slump. The number of female crabs has dropped to a dangerously low level. Severe Winter weather along with environmental issues have become the main cause. Overfishing is being control, and lets hope that they can recover and become abundant once again for all to enjoy.

Here are some photos taken during my drawing process

Here's the finished drawing

Prints, posters and signed fine art reproductions are available 

for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Whale of a Tail, of a New Jersey Tale

Drawing a Humpback Whale

Prints, posters, stationery cards, and signed fine art reproductions  

are available for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Humpback Whale. 11x17" Ballpoint Pen and Ink wash

I live in New Jersey, and when you think of New Jersey whale watching just doesn't come to mind. Cape Cod, Maine, Southern California, and Hawaii are the places where you go to see whales. But recently whale sightings have increased off the New Jersey coast. Especially humpback whales are being sighted much more often this year than in prior ones. There are reports that say it could be because of cleaner waters that have encouraged huge rises in fish populations which whales feed on. This is such great news! I hope this continues and New Jersey becomes the next whale watching destination.

Here's an article that you can read with more details about the increased whale sightings off of the New Jersey coast. Btw, Great White Shark sightings are up too off of NJ. Fantastic news!

I love whales and always have since I was a kid. And strangely I haven't drawn them at all. But recently I had the opportunity to illustrate a non-fiction story by Leslie Jamison called "52 Blue". It's a story about the Loneliest whale. You can read it on The Atavist website here. I did 11 drawings which run throughout the story. It was a wonderful assignment and really made me enthusiastic about drawing whales. So after I finished the project I jumped right into drawing a humpback whale. Humpbacks whales have a special place in my heart. I had the amazing opportunity back in the late 1980's to dive with humpbacks while I was visiting my brother Tony who lived in Hawaii at the time. We were scuba diving off the coast of the Big Island of Hawaii when Humpbacks came upon use on a dive. I'll never forget the sounds they made. This was one of my top 10 life experiences.

Here are a couple of Humpback whale facts. They grow up to 62 feet long and can weight 40 tons. They are endangered with the world population at 80,000. They migrate up to 16,000 miles a year. They can live up to 50 years.

In this drawing I wanted to capture a feeling of peacefulness. My humpback is just floating and isn't moving at all. My whale is completely calm, with the reflection of the water all over him. I think this will be the first of many whale drawings I do. They are such magical looking creatures! Thanks as always for looking.

Here are some photos taken during my drawing process

Here's the finished drawing

Prints, posters and signed fine art reproductions are available 

for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Lobster Tales

Drawing a Spiny Lobster

Prints, posters and signed fine art reproductions are available 

for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Spiny Lobster. 11x17" Ballpoint Pen and Ink wash

I'll never forget the first time I went scuba diving into the Atlantic Ocean on a mission to catch a lobster. Not a warm water spiny lobster like the one is this drawing, but a Maine lobster with BIG Scary Claws! (that drawing is still to come) That was the prize worth more than gold to the hardcore divers that my brother Tony and I would venture 2 hours out into the ocean in search of. Leaving before sunrise and on a small dive boat crammed full of divers and their equipment "Lobster tales" was all the divers could talk about. 8 pound, 10 pound monsters they had caught on previous dives. I was only 17 and had no idea what to expect on my first open water dive into the cold, dark murky waters of the Mid-Atlantic ocean off the coast of Maryland. When the captain finally anchored on the shipwreck, which was a 500 foot cargo ship called the Washingtonian which rested in 100 feet of water and sank in 10 minutes after it collided with another ship, I couldn't wait to get in the water.

SS Washingtonian before it sunk. My first shipwreck dive

This wasn't glamor scuba diving in in the least. No clear, calm, warm waters, this was "mud diving" as they called it. Deep, dark, cold and strong currents that you would have to hang onto the wreck not to get swept away in. And all while surrounded by mangled, sharp, rusty metal of a shipwreck covered in fishing line that was invisible to see and would catch you like a spiderweb in a second. To me is was as if I was an astronaut going into sumerged haunted world. The two coolest things ever. Being able to venture into a creepy alien world where all you could sometimes see was what your flashlight illuminated a few feet in front of you. It was too cool to be true!

The entry from my dive log book from 1984

Here's what I wrote in the entry from my dive Log book. "As Tony and I dropped down the anchor line the vis dropped from 40 feet to 10. The wreck was full of life. The ship was broken up and pipes were everywhere. I looked over to Tony and to my surprise he had his weight belt in his hand. I helped him with it back on and we started across the wreck. The ship was a 500 foot freighter, so I knew we wouldn't see it all. Suddenly we say another diver appear through the silt. He was caring a 13 1/2 pound lobster and heading for the anchor line to go back up to the boat! Then we started to look but found nothing. Lots of fish but no bugs. The ship was covered with fishing line and we had to get tangled in it. Tony cut us free. We surfaced only to see the others prizes and us empty handed. It was a blast! The ocean was no quarry.

Me off the coast of Maryland 1984

Now about my Spiny Lobster. Also know as Rock Lobsters, Spiny Lobster are found in almost all the warm seas of the world. They live in crevices of rocks and coral reefs and only occasionally venture out of their holes in search of food. They produce a rasping sound that repels predators by rubbing the base of their antennae against a smooth part of their exoskeleton to create frictional vibrations. Fossils of Spiny Lobsters have been found that date back 110 million years. 

Diving off the Florida Keys

Picture of me Wreck diving in Micronesa

Airplane wreck in Micronesia

My brother and dive buddy Tony

Me and Tony from my log book 1984

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

Horse of a Different Color

Drawing a Lined Seahorse

Prints, posters and signed fine art reproductions are available 

for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Lined Seahorse. 11x17" Ballpoint Pen and Ink wash

Hippocampus erectus. The scientific name of the lined seahorse translates into "horse or sea monster" in ancient Greek. This tiny fish ranges in size from only 12-19cm. They are listed as vulnerable due to loss of harm to their habitat by pollution and coastal development. I've always been fascinated by these tiny creatures. From studying their presence in Greek  Mythology and art, to actually seeing them while scuba diving in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of North Carolina. They really do take on the appearance of tiny little swimming horses.

Drawing this creature was particularly challenging to me. The unique shape and patterning were difficult to construct in a 2 dimensional drawing. But after my second try, my first was quite a learning lesson and a complete failure in my mind, I feel I achieve the level of quality this amazing little creature deserves. And from doing these drawings I learned a lot about shape, light and patterns. Below are pictures I took throughout the drawings progression. Thanks for stopping by and looking!

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