Paintings and Drawings by Savanna - Pen and Ink and Watercolor

Detail of Toucan Watercolor Painting

Mon, 4 Dec 2006 10:03:53 CST

Detailed crop - showing the pen & ink and watercolor detail of the painting.
The beautiful Keel-billed Toucan and the Black Orchid are the National bird and flower of Belize, but I just see them as exotic and beautiful...

Keel-billed Toucan and Black Orchid

Sun, 26 Nov 2006 06:42:00 CST

The beautiful Keel-billed Toucan and the Black Orchid are the National bird and flower of Belize, but I just see them as exotic and beautiful...

Toucans can be seen best very early in the morning in the rainforest areas of Central America. If you are staying close by in a jungle lodge you may see them just off the deck, eating fruit from the trees, as you sip your morning coffee... a very nice way to start the day - jungle style.

The Black Orchid is a lovely orchid prized in Belize. If you are in Central America for a visit, be certain to ask if there is one in-bloom close by. I sketched this one while enjoying a Belikin at the back deck of Eva's (where the archaeologists and local guides hang out) in San Ignacio.

The original watercolor has sold but is is available as a limited edition and open edition giclee - please see the left side bar for more information.

Travieso - Scarlet Macaw Painting

Sun, 26 Nov 2006 06:42:00 CST

Travieso, is a beautiful smart Scarlet Macaw. His name means mischievous, naughty, puckish, frolicsome, roguish, playful, willful, wanton, prankish, wayward, impish, high-spirited … just to name a few of the Spanish translations, he earns them all and that’s not his full name...

I painted this watercolor of Travieso, while living in Roatan. The people and animals I meet inspire my paintings, still it is the animals I paint.

Travieso is a talented bird, and close to 30 years old when I drew this portrait of him in my sketch book, living with the kindest life-long guardian in her 80’s. He had remodeled their house piece by piece… he did not like square corners. One afternoon while having “tea” (Gin and Tonic) with his sweet guardian, she said, “the one thing he has never touched in all his years is my Geraniums.” As she said it, he looked at us giving her a “you mean these?” look and then at the flowers (as if it had never occurred to him) and instantly reached over and snapped off a branch, maybe just to see what he had been missing and no doubt to cause a fuss.
Then she called him by his full name...
To me, Travieso represents a moment in time and gives me a smile. Living on a little island off the coast of Honduras where coconuts and fish were free and birds ran the roost. This original watercolor has sold but it is available in a variety of other ways - please see the side bar...

Caribbean Morning - Dolphin Painting

Sun, 26 Nov 2006 06:41:11 CST

A Watercolor of Me and my dolphin friend Pita. This is how I like to start my day. If you look under my oil painting 'Discovery' you will find the story of me and Pita. This is Pita.
The Dolphin in Greco-Roman Myth, conducts souls to the world beyond, they save the shipwrecked and symbolize saftey and speed. The are associated with the Sun God, Apollo, and are linked to Dionysus, God of wine. The Dolphin is a wide spread symbol of virtue. Once you've met one face to face ...this is easy to see.
This original watercolor has sold, but a variety of print options are available - see the left side bar.

Caribbean Queen - Conch Shell Painting

Sun, 26 Nov 2006 06:41:10 CST

The Queen Conch is one of the most beautiful shells found in the Caribbean, its bright pink inner lip contrasting with the clear turquoise sea. I could not resist painting this gorgeous Queen Conch Shell in watercolor. Original 20x14.

The beautiful conch has been valued throughout history, traded and carried home from many adventures. This huge mollusk shell with flaring bright pink lips has been collected for it’s meat and it’s shell; which has been scrimshawed, carved into ornate sculptures, jewelry like cameos, beads and buttons, and occasionally the conch contains a rare treasured pink pearl.

Ancient mariners abd Pirates to the present have used the conch as a ships trumpet - with only the slightest modifications.

Shells are associated with the water symbols as the source of life, and are linked to the Yin, the feminine. In the Maya culture, the Conch represents the waters, and ornately carved shells have been excavated from Maya ruins and its image has been found in their hieroglyphs.
It is the emblem of Neptune, as well as the god Vishnu, as the lord of the waters.
The conch is also associated with the spiral that represents the great swirling force of whirlwinds and the movements of the heavens and has represented the energy of both the sun and the moon. The spiral is the main manifestation of energy in nature - as energy is believed to flow in the form of a spiral. The spiral also represents the circling of the soul, which eventually returns to the center, or truth.

In China, shells symbolize a successful journey and good fortune.

In the small country of the Conch Republic (Key West) the Queen Conch is is the National Symbol.

Sadly, in many populated areas, the conch has been over collected. Conchs are the natural enemy of a species of starfish that destroys the coral reef. Seriously struggling for survival themselves, and relied upon by other reef creatures. Their old empty shells are often the homes of the red hermit crab – the harmless and largest (fist size) hermit crab in the West Indies. So, if you pick up an old shell on the beach - make certain it is not a hermit crabs home… They cannot live without their adopted shell and they do not travel well.

The Original painting now lives in Switzerland ...Queen Conchs do travel. Limited edition and open edition giclees are available.