Friday 11 June 2010

A Gentle Giant


This  is a manatee drawn in coloured pencil for the The Spirit of the Gulf Challenge .

I was invited to take part by Sue Pownall from Art of a Nomad.  Suzanne McDermott originally suggested that artists of all kinds make a drawing, painting or any other creative work depicting the beauty of any living aspect of the Gulf of Mexico before the oil disaster.
The oil continues to flow out into the ocean and it is unimaginable the damage that is been done to the enviroment.
A manatee or sea cow is a slow moving creature that resembles a walrus without tusks.
This gentle friendly giant inhabits shallow marshy costal areas surfacing for air every 20 minutes.  The Florida manatee is already an animal in danger of extinction, its main causes of death are human related (collisions with boats etc) and disease.  It is reported that only 2- 3000 of the Florida manatees remain and without protection they will not survive.
Now it is not certain what the effects of the gulf oil disaster will be on the manatee but I'm sure it won't be anything good.

I would like to invite anyone who reads my blog to have a go, here's how:
THE SPIRIT OF THE GULF CHALLENGE:


Find a photo or other resource depicting some living aspect of the Gulf of Mexico before the oil disaster or

Tap into your spirit and use your imagination

Make a drawing, painting or other piece of creative work with love and gratitude for the beautiful life of whatever you're depicting.

Post what you make on your website, include a link to this post: Spirit of the Gulf Challenge (or the facebook group — (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=127832103901693) and put the icon below in your sidebar with a link to this post (or the facebook group). Send me a link to your post and I'll add the link to bottom of this post.

Now a facebook group at Spirit of the Gulf facebook group. You can link to your work there! (If you're not on facebook, just email me your link and I'll post it.)

Invite 5 of your friends or favorite artists to accept this challenge, include a link to this post, the facebook page, copy this description of the challenge

13 comments:

Alex said...

It's such a sweet looking creature, and I absolutely adore the lighting. =) You've captured the spirit and the expression so well, and congratulations with your submission too.

Suzanne McDermott said...

Ah... Beautiful!! Thanks for your efforts to contribute this Manatee to the challenge. It's great work!

debra morris said...

Beautiful Cathy! love these wonderful creatures ...you've captured them well

Roadchick said...

When I lived in Florida, we used to go see the manatees and they were such gentle creatures. Your drawing captures the spirit of the manatee perfectly - they are so trusting. Awesome job!

Unknown said...

Thank you for accepting the challenge Cathy and for doing such a fabulous job. This is really beautiful.

Ann said...

Wonderful, sensitive drawing of such a gentle creature.

Unknown said...

Beautiful contribution! I love manatees!

rrARTz said...

what beautiful texture and color!

Anonymous said...

A beautiful drawing and a beautiful post. Thank you.

Timaree said...

This is really nice. You've really captured it's gentleness.

Peachtreeart said...

Your manatee is adorable...he/she is a sad reminder of how many wonderful creatures we've lost in the Gulf!

RH Carpenter said...

This is a beautiful work...and there is something inherently sad about these gentle giants that fits the challenge.

Anonymous said...

sweet manatee. Yet another beautiful creature losing its home.