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Slowly compiling cookbook concept illustrations and testing out digital watercolor brushes while I'm at it!

These are two of my favorite go-to smoothies, broken down botanically. Recipes included, because I enjoy pushing the out-of-the-box vegetable agenda.

BEET & BLUEBERRY COCOA SMOOTHIE

3/4c. water + 1Tbsp hemp seeds, blended

1/2c. cold coffee or almond milk

3/4c. frozen blueberries

1/2c. beets, steamed & frozen

1/2c. cauliflower, steamed and frozen

4 Ice cubes

2-3 Tbsp. Dark unsweetened cocoa powder

1tsp vanilla

1 Tbsp almond butter

Tiny pinch of salt

Liquid stevia to taste

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COFFEE SMOOTHIE

3/4c. water + 1 Tbsp hemp seeds, blended 

1/2c. strong cold espresso or cold brew

4 cubes papaya (banana would probably work too)

4 ice cubes

3/4c. spaghetti squash, cooked and frozen

3/4c. zucchini, sliced steamed and frozen

1 Tbsp tahini

1tsp. vanilla

Handful of raw coffee beans 

1 tsp espresso powder (optional)

Tiny pinch of salt

Liquid stevia to taste

#food illustration #vegetables #recipe illustration #illustrated recipes #botanical illustration #cookbook art #smoothies #breakfast

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Testing digital brushes for translucence--work in progress!

#jellyfish #digital art #white spotted jellyfish #shedd aquarium #digital art practice #natural science art #invertebrates #jellyfish art

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There’s a protest going on against AI art over on artstation, so I feel like now is the time for me to make a statement on this issue! 

I wholeheartedly support the ongoing protest against AI art. Why? Because my artwork is included in the datasets used to train these image generators without my consent. I get zero compensation for the use of my art, even though these image generators cost money to use, and are a commercial product. 

Musicians are not being treated the same way. Stability has a music generator that only uses royalty free music in their dataset. Their words: “Because diffusion models are prone to memorization and overfitting, releasing a model trained on copyrighted data could potentially result in legal issues.” Why is the work of visual artists being treated differently?

Many have compared image generators to human artists seeking out inspiration. Those two are not the same. My art is literally being fed into these generators through the datasets, and spat back out of a program that has no inherent sense of what is respectful to artists. As long as my art is literally integrated into the system used to create the images, it is commercial use of my art without my consent.

Until there is an ethically sourced database that compensates artists for the use of their images, I am against AI art. I also think platforms should do everything they can to prevent scraping of their content for these databases. 

Artists, speak out against this predatory practice! Our art should not be exploited without our consent, and we deserve to be compensated when our art is exploited for commercial use. 

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Quick digitally painted axolotl color study sketch thing.

#axolotl #nature art #digital art #herpetology #herpetology art #natural science illustration #wildlife art #aquatic life #amphibians

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Ribbed Pine Borer Larva, a digital painting experiment.

#beetle larva #beetle larvae #coleoptera #insect art #digital art practice #digital illustration #natural science illustration #ribbed pine borer #larvae #larva #grubs #insects #nature art #grub #bug art #bugs

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Very quick digital sketch of a pair of Collared Lizards from the Field Museum. This was my first time attempting Procreate, and an excuse to test out a brush or two. 

#reptiles #herpetology #sketches #collared lizard #field museum #digital art practice #nature art #natural science illustration #lizzards

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Fiddling around with designs for a Zebra Pegacorn t-shirt for Ehlers Danlos & Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder awareness.

The zebra has become the mascot for EDS, HSD and other rare diseases because of the medical adage “When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras!” Sometimes, though, it really is a zebra. And sometimes, symptoms are just so baffling that you feel like a truly rare specimen indeed! My physical therapist called me a zebra pegacorn once and thus, this design was born.

#ehlers danlos awareness #hypermobile spectrum disorder #hsd #eds #rare disorder #ehlers danlos zebra #hypermobility spectrum disorder #rare diseases zebra

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Stonefly aquatic larva portrait!

#aquatic insects #stonefly larva #insect art #Natural Science Illustration #nature art #insects #aquatic life #larvae #entomology illustration

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Field Museum specimens for the reconstructive fossil invertebrate project compiled into one plate. (Individual illustrations visible on my website.)

#Field Museum #paleoart #ordovician #fossil invertebrates #Natural Science Illustration #scientific illustration #paleo illustration #paleo reconstruction #trilobite #brachiopod #crinoid #illustration #museum collections #my art

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Closeup of one of my recent faves, along with a sketch of its adult counterpart. 

The larvae of the diving water beetle is a creature of such grace, beauty and alien ferocity. I will never stop appreciating them.

#insect art #entomology #larva #larvae #natural science illustration #coleoptera #aquatic insects #aquatic invertebrates #nature art #bugs #insects #diving water beetle #scientific illustration #my art #bug art

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Absolutely gorgeous and amazing.

Caddisfly larvae build protective cases using materials found in their environment. Artist Hubert Duprat supplied them with gold leaf and precious stones. This is what they created.

via IFLS

#caddisfly #larvae #insect larvae #aquatic insects #aquatic invertebrates

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Acquainting myself a bit with tablet drawing--an excuse to update some of the illustrations from the bumble bee conservation and life cycle brochure I illustrated for the Xerces Society a few years ago.

Someday I would like to update the whole thing, but these Rusty Patched Bumblebees in different stages of nest development are a start. The physical illustrations themselves were very small, originally, so it’s been nice to play with adding a bit more detail.

#bumble bees #rusty patched bumble bee #bees #insect art #pollinators #pollinator conservation #xerces society #my art

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New grub in-progress! I’m loving this new watercolor paper.

#grubs #beetle grubs #larvae #beetle larvae #beetle larva #Coleoptera #insect illustration #work in progress #beetles #insect art #insects #bugs #natural science illustration

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Spring walks and wanders.

#photography #soft color pallette #nature #walks #botanicals

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Collection of winter walks. 

#nature #winter #photography

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I thought it was about time to breathe a bit of life back into this very sad, neglected Tumblr, with a neglected illustration.

This was part of the Field Museum project I worked on for the Fossil Invertebrates Collection--a concept illustration that never ended up being used-- reconstructing a fossil that may or may not have been some kind of Silurian bryozoan. 

Bryozoans are tiny colony building animals similar to corals, that create stationary exoskeleton structures and filter feed by way of a retractible lophophore. This one never really made it past the concept stage, but I do still rather enjoy the shape of it!

#field museum #natural science illustration #scientific illustration #paleoart #my art

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Little inktober mantis, in honor of the many I have seen this year.

#mantids #praying mantiis #nature art #insect art #ballpoint pen #natural science illustration #sketchbook #sketching #insects #inktober2020 #my art