The Crow River Expedition: Part Three

Well, this is the last part about my journey to the Crow River area...and it is dedicated to its wonderful inhabitants! I would like to start with the Wise Ones. Do you remember Sean The Wise Oak Tree Stump? He lives in Erinle's garden and he is the Wise One. These creatures look like tree (mainly oak) stumps, but they are not the real stumps. They have never been trees and they can even move, but very slowly. They exist in Erinle's world from the beginning of times and are known as a great advisers. In the valley of the Crow River I've met Sean's brother - Norbert. He told me, that every area or region in Erinle's world has its own Wise Stump.By the way, Norbert has a friend, a gray owl named Freddie! :)

...and Freddy! :)

And then, there is Tookey... Tookey the Strange! He is a real hermit. Tookey inhabits a small cave near the Crow River. He is obsessed with mushrooms and herbs. He knows many potion and mixture recipes and is always experimenting a lot. He looks like some kind of frog mixed with a mushroom and he is even covered with moss. He looks a little bit scary but he is kind and very smart. I even managed to get some new potion recipes for Erinle! :)

It's good to be strange! :)

The River Folk... I am so happy that I met them! They are amazing creatures and they are the natives of the Crow River area. They look like a hybrid of lizard and slug, each of them has his/her unique colour of skin and no two are alike. Their average height is 130 cm (approximately 4 ft 3 inches) and their complexion varies a lot. They live in cozy cottages, wooden huts and even in manors! They behave exactly like human beings, but are kinder and even a little bit naive...:) And they are very sweet and hospitable! :)

Ms. Ernestine Doodley is an amazing artist! :)

And here are all of my new friends together (except Ernestine, she was the one with a camera)! I will definitely return there again! :)

From left to right: Patricia Candyberg, Grandma Chloe, Percival Lois, Alistair Groomby, Norbert,  Anthony Baldwinkle, Rooney Breadeater and Tookey

P.S. Basically reading about this and the following expeditions to the world of my imagination will help you to understand more about my creatures and creations and where did they come from...:) Nothing more, nor less. Thanks!

The Crow River Expedition: Part Two

Now lets talk about some small creatures that inhabit the Crow River itself and its unusual banks. As I mentioned before, the water there is very clear, so it was quite easy to observe those tiny water beings. They all differ from each other and are very colourful. Some of them have tentacles like an octopus, some look more like an eel and some are almost like a jellyfish. I have some sketches and even some specimens! Just look below...

The green one is my favourite! :)

And these are the specimens I brought home with me...

These are the best part of my collection! :)

In some places the river banks are totally covered with pebbles and... MUSHROOMS! They are called the Rainbow Mushrooms (well, I guess that's because they are quite colourful too). They grow only on those pebbles, which are covered with moss. They are a little bit frightened yet adorable. And they can speak! Unfortunately, I do not know their language yet...But I think it is never too late to learn something new! :)

The Rainbow Mushrooms have different shapes and colours.

Almost forgot to mention that the Crow River is full of fish! They look familiar (I saw there flounders, perches, trouts and even jellyfish) but still somehow are different. Here is a little drawing with a four different species that can be found there.

Mmm, fish...Yummy! :)

And of course there are a lot of different insects (particularly, bugs) hiding in the tall river grass! The little fellows below are known as the Dancing Bugs. Their moves resemble a strangely wicked yet beautiful dance. I found them sitting on the top of the Bubble grass and made this unusual sketch. Hope you like them! :)

Foot to the right, foot to the left... Clap your hands, I mean, legs! :)

The last part will be about ...River Folk! Do not miss it! :)

P.S. Basically reading about this and the following expeditions to the world of my imagination will help you to understand more about my creatures and creations and where did they come from...:) Nothing more, nor less. Thanks!

The Crow River Expedition: Part One

This is the first summarizing post about my expedition to the Crow River area. At first I wanted to create one big post about everything but it came out too long. So I decided to divide it in three parts - about river and its flora, about its fauna and about its inhabitants. This is the first one, the other will follow it shortly on August the 2nd and the 3rd...:) 

The Crow River

The Crow River is the biggest river in Erinle's world. Its length is 241 km (approximately 149 miles) and its origin lies somewhere in the Biting Peaks. As you can see, the Crow River is quite twisty and is separated in its mouth into two by an island (known as the Crow Nest). You probably wonder why it is call the Crow River? Well, because of enormous amount of crows living in the small forests on the banks of the river and on the island. The Crow River is more like a mountain river, it has both shallow and deep places and a lot of rapids. The water is very clear and quite cold. There are plenty of river pebbles and I even managed to bring some home for my collection of stones. 

They somehow remind me bones...but I like it! :)

The river banks are covered not only with common sedge grass and reed, but also some unusual plants are growing there. For example, the bubble grass and the spiral flower. I didn't manage to bring some species home, because they both are quite sharp and prickly, but I have some drawings instead.  They are not quite good, but you will get the main idea! :)

In the small forests (consisting mostly of oaks, aspens and poplars) surrounding the river I've found also blueberries, cloudberries and even a little bit of wild raspberries. There were plenty of mushrooms too, but they were ALIVE, so I will tell more about them in my next post...:)

P.S. Basically reading about this and the following expeditions to the world of my imagination will help you to understand more about my creatures and creations and where did they come from...:) Nothing more, nor less. Thanks!

Expedition continues...

Well, well, well... Here I am again! :)

Still struggling with summer heat (it's 30ºC or 86ºF in here and the air humidity is simply killing) and the remains of artist's block, but things are slowly getting back to normal. My expedition to the valley of the Crow River continues, I'm collecting some samples, specimen, new friends and strange stories. My expedition to this particular area of Erinle's world will end on the 31st of July and I will summarize everything in the special big post on August the 1st. Here are some pictures of latest expedition finds (newly creations).

Enjoy! :)

The four specimens of river inhabitants...:)

Another Zombie Shroompling...:)

The famous hermit - Tookie the Strange...

Sean's brother - Norbert (and his owly friend Freddy)...

Creatures, creatures, creatures...

My expedition to the Crow River area continues and here are some water creatures that inhabit the river itself! :) The water in the river is very clean and clear and the observation process is quite easy...and quite interesting! I used watercolours and watercolour pencils to draw these little guys. These drawings were then turned into nice handmade "Thank You" cards for my wonderful customers... and one of them is already travelling to other part of the world. Guess which one! :)

The Thank You cards...

I've created 8 cards for now (one is already sent with an order) but I will definitely make more a little bit later...:)

Bright and lovely! :)

Weird and cute! :)

Summer, summer, summer...

Summer definitely distracts me from creating... Sunshine, birds' singing, warm wind, fresh air, seaside, bike, forest walks... I'm starting to think it is a conspiracy! :) I've set some goals for this summer and now I even don't know if I will achieve some at least couple of them... :D
But nevertheless... I have mentioned before, that I'm trying to make my store (and first of all, my imagination) more cohesive. That's why all my creations from now on will be connected to Erinle's World's map. And I decided to present it all as the unusual expeditions to the world of my imagination ( a.k.a. Erinle's world). I will connect it with my Erinle's Notebook project in the near future.

Sorry for the unpainted wall, we are in a middle of a redecoration...:)

Do you remember the map from previous post? If no, check this post! The is only one big river in Erinle's world - the Crow River.  My very first expedition will happen in that region.The area around it on both sides is inhabited by famous River Folk. And here are some of them...:)  

Mr.Anthony Baldwinkle...

The expedition has just started - so there is only a little bit of information available right now. I will examine as much as possible during my walks near the Crow River and I will definitely show you everything (the River Folk themselves and their habitat and traditions; herbs and insects;creatures that live in the river itself; mushrooms; tales and legends).
So stay tuned and enjoy the summer! :) 

Grandma Chloe...

New Map...

Here is the latest version of Erinle's world's map... I painted it with watercolours and then altered a little bit digitally. I want to make my store more cohesive and now I have finally figured out how to do it. I will tell you more a little bit later, but at this moment - simply enjoy this map! :)

Not bad at all...:)