Animal Baskets of the Embera People

Panama ~ January 7, 2006

These beautiful baskets using animal designs are made by the Embera people of Panama. See this post on Tapirgal's Daily Image for a photo of an Embera woman selling some of her village's jewelry and baskets. There is also a longer explanation about the Embera people, who live along the Chagres River and in the Darien area of Panama.

Oops. I see I posted this photo on Animal Art last June, but it was cropped differently. I love the colors and the artwork, and I'm going to leave it. I started a system once of re-naming photos to indicated that I'd used them on blog posts, but I only used it for a few days because it required going back to the original photo after I'd saved the copy elsewhere and I'd simply forget to do it. Does anyone have a great system to share for avoiding duplicate postings?

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Another Elephant Sculpture at the Zoo in Tucson

Tucson, Arizona ~ December 26, 2004

Reid Park Zoo

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

"The Dragon of Sant'Elia"

I painted this dragon in about 1978. It's probably the largest canvas I've ever done. Through a number of moves and lack of care, it is gone now, but I photographed it before it disappeared. I'm guessing it was about five feet tall. The dragon, the street sign, and the doorway come from a photo I took of the Town Hall (Rathaus) in Munich. I would have to hunt for that photo, so I'll link to photos that someone else put online. Here is one of the dragon sculpture, and here is one showing the dragon showing more of the Rathaus.

I didn't like the way the painting was going when I tried to paint it to look like the original building and sculpture, so I changed the color of the dragon and obliterated the setting except for the street sign. So, what to use for a background? I took the design from a drawing of by Antonio Sant'Elia for building in the Futurist style. Somewhat modified, but not much, I thought it was the perfect setting for my dragon. Although realistic street sign was now totally out of place, I liked the balance and couldn't think of anything I'd prefer to put there, so I left it. It's the tail end of "Weinstrasse" with a German double "s."

Since the sign has a story behind it, I thought I'd link with "Signs, Signs" today.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Three Painted Greek Fish

Chicago ~ April 21, 2005

Art Institute of Chicago Museum

This is the third and last post of my ancient Greek "fish bowl" series. You can see the first two here and here.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

A Greyhound in Stone

London ~ February 20, 2010

Natural History Museum

Greyhound or whippet, I don't know, but this this artful dog on the wide end of a banister was one of the beautifully-carved animals that caught my attention inside the Natural History Museum in London. Here is another carving from one of the banisters.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Elephant Sculpture at Reid Park Zoo

Tucson, Arizona ~ December 26, 2004

Reid Park Zoo

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Koala and Baby on a Postage Stamp from Australia

I really like this adorable koala postage stamp from Australia. We have quite a few koalas in our online animal store.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.