Skink Lizard

This Skink Lizard Artwork / illustration is an original digital painting by Contemporary Australian Artist Di Mathews. It is available for sale as a print on museum quality paper.

The lizard is an Australian species from my backyard. It is about a foot (30cm long) and often bakes itself in the warmth of the sun. This particular skink has a favourite route. At certain times of the day it runs from one side of the cement verandah to the other. Often this routine lines up with my husband standing in the way. They have a ritual where the lizard will run out and stop about 12 cm from my husbands feet, then it will tilt its head to look up at him and wait for him to move. Husband takes a step backward and the lizard continues its dash to the other side of the path... Until one day when the lizard forgot to check and came running full speed out from the leaves and ran smack-bang into husbands foot. He tilt its head to look up at him as if to say "why didn't you move?" then continued to run right over the top of both of his feet. Another time the lizard forgot to check his route he ran smack-bang into a turtle dove, it was hard to tell which jumped the most in fright.

Antique Camera Still Life

Click image to see large version.

This is a realistic still life artwork by Di Mathews, Created in the memory of Darrell Claude Avery. Copyright Hexagonal Mandala 2005.

I grew up as the proud daughter of a freelance wedding photographer. My dad's main employment was as a coal miner, grotty and not very glamorous, but when preened and formally attired, armed with amazing gadgets my father could make peoples precious memories materialise. As a child this seemed glamorous and mysterious.

After he died I inherited these items, whose magic I was able to resurrect throughout the years of art school that followed. This image is a celebration of that era. A nostalgic look at the past and recreation of the elegance of equipment. All of the items featured in this artwork are sculpted by myself in virtual 3D space and are based on existing physical items.

Youthful memories of shutters and flash,
Red lit chemicals glimmer.
Enlarger looming over magical images,
While dangling film strips shimmer.

Captured love of marriage,
precious moments of youth,
cherished flowers in the garden
and immortalised snippets of truth.

Crow Dragonfly Bee

Bird Art - Galah Parrots

(click image to see larger version).
This is a 12x16 inch Australian native bird illustration by Hexagonal Mandala. Art and text - Copyright 2009.

Australian backyards are hosts to many amazing native and introduced bird species. I am lucky enough to have a few natives that frequent my yard and neighbourhood. This image is from a series of paintings which explores species observed at or near my home in the Hunter Valley on the eastern coast of Australia. This is a scene of Galahs, (Scientific name: Eolophus roseicapillus), where the morning sunlight illuminates the foliage below and signals the start to another glorious day. Galahs are easy to identify because of their colouring and they are one of the most common and widespread cockatoos in Australia. The large trees near my home often host a small handful of these birds, and often they will be seen rummaging through grass in search of a feed. Galahs are usually considered as exhibiting bold and loud behaviour and therefore to be referred to as a "Galah" in Australian slang suggests that your behaviour is perceived as that of a 'fool' or 'idiot'.

Bird Art - Carolina Wrens

These two Carolina wren artworks are by Di Mathews (Diavma). Copyright Hexagonal Mandala Australia 2009.
Both paintings measure approx 12 x 16 inches, on 250gm archival paper.
Carolina wren among dogwood flowers. The pretty songbird is the "State Bird" of South Carolina.
While the dogwood, a blossom that blooms profusely in spring, is North Carolinas "State Flower".

The Carolina Wren, Thryothorus ludovicianus, is one of the larger and more richly coloured wrens from the United States. The wren is mostly chestnut brown with butterscotch bellies and a bold white eyebrow and throat. The patterning of its wings and tail make it a wonderful species to paint. The male of the species is a well known song bird, whose song vary regionally. Males and females look alike with the male being slightly larger.