#lacelitober: Week 2
#lacelitober continues! Take a peek at the hashtag while in the IG app to see everyone's creations. I've been so energized by what everyone's making.
I've surprised myself with another full week of illustrating! In past years, I've switched around between mediums, but I've been in a drawing mood this month, so I'm following my inclinations and going with it. ^.^ Here's a wrap-up of my second week...
A reminder that we don’t have to be everything. 🤍
I find comfort in time, and how we document it through art and photographs and conversations tucked away for safe keeping. How the passing of it can still worries of stagnancy and allows us to see our progress, how we are growing, where things are changing in us or around us. This bring a comfort and inspires me to spend the time I have building kind things. 🤍
Happy Indigenous Peoples Day! Let’s learn how to pronounce ‘axolotl’ in the Nahuatl language. Let’s learn together!
These amphibious wonders found exclusively in a few inland canals near Lake Xochimilco, Mexico, are critically endangered and in need of habitat restoration. While closely related to the tiger salamander, they do not grow out of their aquatic phase to live on land. Instead, they keep their gills and spend their entire lives underwater. Researching this white and pink variety, I couldn't help but notice how it almost appears to glow because of its contrast with the deep waters all around it. ✨
I've wanted to drawn an axolotl for some time now, and had SO much fun drawing this little friend + playing with illustrating water lines.
Meet my tiny bonsai dragon sprite, Ryūmori (龍 dragon + 森 forest). You can spot this little friend flitting about in bonsai gardens, whispering words of encouragement as they grow. They are invisible during daylight, but can be seen at night twinkling in the crowns of nearby forests as they sleep. People looking up into the sky from below often mistake them for stars shining through tree branches. ✨
A fun little multimedia piece for today! I love drawing on top of photography (my very first medium in the visual arts 🥹).
This is a photograph I took in Beatrix Potter's garden at Hill Top in the Lake District of Ambleside, England, a few years ago. It holds the sweet memory of walking among her beloved blooms, seeing the beauty of the vibrant countryside she worked so hard to protect, and learning more about this forward-thinking artist, passionate conservationist & environmentalist, and strategic businesswoman who believed children’s books were important even when publishers rejected her again and again.
This little fella’s enjoying a morning climb- to get the best view, of course! 🌱
🌼 P.S. You can find my travel diary posts of this trip and learn more about Beatrix Potter here: #taylorpestellianchapters.
When I was 4 years old, my mom and I were visiting a friend when we learned that 2 little black kittens had been abandoned and were hiding beneath a parked car. It was my older sister's 6th birthday, so we decided to take one home as a birthday present. My most vivid memory of this day was being strapped into my carseat in the back and looking down at the tiny black kitten running in and out from under the front passenger seat, meowing as we drove along. ☺️
This was my very first kitty, dear Midnight. I still miss his uniquely deep meow, golden yellow eyes, and sweet, rumbling purrs.
In Japan, black cats are considered lucky! This cozy little neko is an ode to black cats everywhere. 🐈⬛🤍
💚 We must remember to be kind to our planet’s waters and coral reefs filled with beautiful sea life.🪸
Yay, another illo of something I've been meaning to draw for quite some time now! The seahorse is such a magical little creature, don't you think? I love their curling tales and likeness to how I’d imagine an underwater dragon. 🫧
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I'm thinking of offering some of them as art prints or on other types of products in the future, so feel free to let me know if there are any you'd most like to see!
♡ Kimberly Kuniko
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Words, Art + Photography by
© Kimberly 國子Taylor-Pestell
