Growth Chart

I selected an illustration from my book Maya Monkey for the www.illustrationfriday.com theme grow. This one's pretty obvious, as she's being measured for growth by her friend the sloth. 

Just another day in paradise!

Noise!

Doesn't this look peaceful?  We discovered this idyllic lot in Costa Rica in 2012. Sunshine, nature and the ocean hugging the cliffs in the distance.  Heaven. We visited this empty lot several times.  In the morning for sunrise.  And in the evening for sunset.  We'd bring up an imperial and celebrate another day of pura vida.  Flash forward to 2015.  It's still available!  Who could resist this beauty? Who could resist this stunning view?

Well, there is a down side....This location in Dominical combined with the perfect storm of elevation results in a roaring symphony at night.  A cacophony of cicadas.  All screaming at the same time.  It is unbelievable really.  You have to hear it with your own ears.  Or not!  Ha!

chestnut mandibled toucan

white faced capuchin

I couldn't resist posting my cicada illustrations from my jungle journal full of illustrated poems this week for noise.  The www.illustrationfriday.com theme.  Boy, nothing can prepare you for the deafening screams of a Costa Rica cicada. Somewhere between the elevation of 1,000-3,000 feet, the cicadas go hog wild.  Like I said, we drove up to our Costa Rica lot again this year. Just like old times.  It was still deafening.  Hmmm.  I wonder why it is still available.

"Sorry dudes!  All this fuss over little old me?"

Saturday's Critters

Bird d'Pot

Wild Bird Wednesday 

My new book!

I had good news last week.  Copies of my new book Maya Monkey are on their way.  So I've been waiting by the mailbox.  It's been over a year since I finished the illustrations for Teacher Created Materials  But good grief.  It still hasn't arrived.  Sigh.  But it is available under new products on their website.  Yay!  Hopefully it will come today. The mailman is starting to get the evil eye.

I also have some other book news.  I'm starting my 3rd book.  A graphic novel called, Tales of the Six Shooter Ghost.  It is a complete 180 from my other two books.  It will be a hauntingly good challenge.  

Tomorrow the theme is floral.

shhhhhhh......

click to enlarge

Be very quiet.  Not even a whisper.

www.illustrationfriday.com 

Do not on any terms awake the cicada.  They may be small.  But they are capable of crazy, insane and deafening sound.  When ever I think of being quiet these days I think of the books I am reading, Game of Thrones.  Arya, one of the young heroines learned from her dancing master (sword play) to be as still as blue water and as quiet as a cicada shell.  (after the cicada is dead)  I just made that part up.  But Arya practiced her stealth skills trying to pick up wild alley cats around the city. That would be tough. meeeeeeOOWWW!!!!...pssssttttt...aaaaaaahhhhhaaaa

That was supposed to sound like a cat screeching, hissing and then probably scratching Arya. 

                   

click to enlarge

Well, unfortunately on this occasion the cicadas woke up and roared.  My illustrated monkey and toucan have heard enough.

These illustrations are part of my jungle journal stored at the Brooklyn Art Library/Art House Co-op.  If someone checks out a book in Brooklyn does it make a sound?  No.  I don't think so.    

Out with the old and in with the new...sniff.

I'm doing a little recycling this week.  I'm re-posting an old favorite for Wild Bird Wednesday  It is new to all those folks.  And I never get tired of re-visiting my first Costa Rica trip.  We'd been to Hawaii before.  So I thought, what could top that?  Well, Central America.  The birds and animals are so amazing.  It was the first time I'd seen so many species of Hummingbirds.  I have a monster one in this post.  And since this trip we've been to C.A. 7 times.  Maybe I should do a little more recycling.  But until then, check out a blast from the past... 

This happens every year.  And I'm certainly not complaining.  But it is still a very sad thing in this household.  My walls are not getting any bigger.  And when a new crop of travel photos emerges, I have to retire a few old memories.  We just got back from Belize, and now our very first trip to Costa Rica is on the chopping block. So I'm so glad I can share them once again with all of you.  This photo of Arenal Volcano still inspires awe.  I'll never forget my first glimpse of it in the distance.  I had never seen a cone shaped volcano like that before.  It is experiences like that which keep me completely sickened with the travel bug.  An unrelenting need to keep feeling that same sensation over and over again.  There is nothing like the thrill of a new adventure.  

A raccoon like Coati.  They are cute little beggers.

A parrot beauty shot.

Fortuna Waterfall.

Arenal Volcano as seen from the wonderful sidewalk at El Silencio Del Campo.  

A monster humming bird in the cloud forest of Monteverde.  They buzz around you like something out of Top Gun!

Manuel Antonio  (a.k.a.  Monkey Park)  A requisite tourist stop.  But still a beautiful beach and a must see.

Well, that's it.  Another grouping of travel photos fades into black.  But God willing there will never be an end to the turn over.  

Stripes

This is just a little something striped and spotted I painted back in 2007. Or was it 2010. Oh, how could I forget the MNSCBWI Zoo Day of 2009. Especially since the monkey is waving it right in front of me. I've grown a lot as an artist in the last few years. But my Girbra stands the test of time. I still love him and wouldn't change a thing. And my weird 1/2 breed with the handy tongue is my entry for www.illustrationfriday.com

Tikal!

I'm celebrating. I finally reached 10,000 blog hits since putting up my stat counter. Maybe not a big number for some. But pretty good for a blog that has anything to do with art. If I had a blog completely devoted to kitten photos of course I'd have a million hits. Tikal fits the bill for celebration posts. It is so grand. Here is one of our first glimpses of the ruins.

Tikal is the largest excavated pre-Hispanic site in the Americas. The National Park covers 222 square miles of jungle within Guatemala's largest protected area. Its 3,000+ structures housed up to 130,000 souls in its heyday. This photo shows the 144 foot Temple of the Giant Jaguar.

This Temple stands directly across from Giant Jaguar. It pays homage to lady 12 Macaw.

Monkeying around.

Hmmm. Whose paws are these? We're on top of the 190 foot Temple V.

I think this is the plaza of the Seven Temples.

A Mot Mot.

We ran up these stairs like they were nothing. Fingers crossed. If you enjoyed this post pass on the link to friends. Or book a trip with your travel agent! And if you need more to wet your appetite check out my illustrated map of Hopkins, Belize. It's just a hop, skip and a Guatemalan border crossing from Tikal. Here's the link
http://www.theydrawandtravel.com/maps/hopkins-belize-sharon-wagner

Safari

I've never been on a Safari. But if and when I do I hope to spot a Girbra. Actually I hope to spot more than one. We want them to reproduce after all.

I'm sure http://www.illustrationfriday.com/ will be a virtual Zoo this week. One of my favorite illustrations called Neon Giraffe is very sad that I did not choose him for my Safari post. Oh well, can't please everyone.

I just did a spell check. Girbra was highlighted. For heaven's sake! Clearly Girbras are real and I spelled it correctly. What do they know.

The beginning of the day in Costa Rica

Beginner. That's the http://www.illustrationfriday.com/ theme today. And in the jungles of Costa Rica, the day begins LOUD. Thanks to the lowly cicada. But I wouldn't have it any other way. The first sound you are likely to hear is the grunt of the howler monkey. Then the buzz of the cicada slowly builds to an ear popping symphony.


These illustrations were completed for 2010's, "There's an Iguana on my roof!" for Art House Co-op.

Now if you want to hear the real thing be sure to play this short video. It was filmed at dusk when the cicadas perform their 2nd act. Turn up the sound! It builds to a deafening roar!

Have a merry monkey Christmas!

I had a little fun again this year with our Christmas card photo. Can you tell which monkey doesn't belong? Well, it's the one that is not wearing a helmet and looks the most like a monkey. (I hope!)

This photo was taken last February at Hacienda Baru in Costa Rica. We were attempting a 120 foot tree climb. We made it around 50 feet before calling it quits. I'm no monkey that's for sure. But it was a lot of jungle fun.

And for those of you that missed last year's card. I photoshopped a squirrel in another Costa Rica photo. It was supposed to be a funny take on the popular crasher squirrel photo. This photo was taken in front of the Arenal Volcano. Unfortunately the cone shaped Volcano was enshrouded in clouds during this visit. But it was still active and spewing lava rocks down the side. You can actually hear and see them without binoculars. Hmmmm. I wonder if that means we were too close?

Merry Christmas blogging friends!

Cicada Symphony

I was inspired by an inquiry from my friend Alicia to do today's post. She wondered if I had ever gone to a concert while in Costa Rica. The answer is no. But there is ALOT to listen to for free. Sometimes the sounds are soothing and peaceful. Like a chorus of exotic birds chatting and singing. Sometimes the sounds are loud and exciting. Like the barking of a howler monkey. Or the ocean squeezing into the Ventenas caves South of Dominical. And sometimes the sounds are down right annoying. Those are the sounds that inspired my 5th installment of last Winter's fiction project. The culprit...the cicada. We never actually saw one. But their presence could probably be heard from space. Or at least that is the way it seemed. I had so much fun writing and illustrating my fiction project. And as I've said before the journal can now be found at the Brooklyn Art Library.

I've included 3 short videos. Turn up the volume and listen to the jungle. The chestnut toucan starts out blurry, but comes into focus later. The ROAR of the cicada can definitely be heard on the last 2. And it's free!

This is where the wild things are.

I illustrated the painted moose art for the Minnesota SCBWI's Summer field trip to the Zoo. To see the flyer visit http://www.minnesotascbwi.org/ I like to think that after the beaver finishes painting the patient moose, the moose decides to kick the beaver sharply in the be-hind. The paint and the beaver fly into the shallow water. Unfortunately the poor beaver is forced to swim away through a swirl of paint clutching the paintbrush tightly between his two front teeth. The End. In honor of Zoo Day (which I missed, darn it all) I decided to create a HUGE post of animal photos. Have fun at my Zoo!

Corn chips.

This fawn was photographed in Hatfield, WI.

A Howler monkey at Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica.

Standing tough.

Baby

My pet bat...not.

Owl butterfly.

I'm talk'in turkey at Fort Snelling.

Akua

White faced monkey.

Monster Hummer.

It's a Kinkajou raiding the hummingbird feeder. At Monteverde.

This behind belongs to a Coati.

We like to think that we saved this frog from the volcanically heated pool. He didn't say thank you.

This sloth dared to cross a busy highway. Luckily a local gentleman stopped his vehicle and escorted him safely across. Near Fortuna, Costa Rica.

A Red-lored Parrot perhaps?

This is the extremely rare White-throated Magpie-Jay. Ha!

This is a beloved house cat. Hana! To see more beloved house cats visit http://www.gattinamycats.blogspot.com/