Frog Mandala Tessellation

This is a delightfully whimsical frog composition by Hexagonal Mandala, where the frogs are presented in a Mandala circle, whose archetypical symbolism, in creation, becomes spiritual and sacred.

The frogs appearing in this mandala are different shapes and sizes which fit together perfectly with each individual adapting to their surrounds and becoming part of a larger sense of order and existence. With their organic ochres and earthy colours they create an aura of calm natural harmony. The image is a reminder to you of your own personal strength and ability to change and grow with life experiences, and of the existence of your own creativity and power of adaptation to overcome difficulties. It is also an image that reminds you of the fragility of the planet and the wonder and magic of its creation, a reminder to find and enjoy the beauty of what surrounds you.

In the mythology of many cultures frogs are linked to cleansing, healing and creative powers. Their metamorphosis from tadpole to frog is often used to symbolise the awakening of ones creativity and recognising one's own power of adaptation. Frogs are naturally symbols of a peaceful, harmonious coexistence and interdependence with nature. Frogs because of this sensitivity serve as a strong lesson about our own interdependence within a fragile eco-system. Teaching a connection with the earth and everything on it.

Copyright of both mage and text belongs to Hexagonal Mandala Australia 2009. This image is available for sale as a print on high quality artist paper.

3D Botanical studies

Digital illustrations of botanical species by Hexagonal Mandala. Both of these images were creates from original 3D virtual sculpted models. I create each model directly into the computer based on live specimens from my garden. These are 2 from a series of 12 images. They show a coleus flower and geranium. Each image is printed on 11.5 x 16.5 inch high quality artist paper. If you wish to purchase from this series email me to view the set in its entirety. In each of these images the asymmetric composition is reminiscent of Japanese prints, creates a lively visual aesthetic. These images are clean and fresh like the nature illustrations of the 19th century. The open spaces of clean, fresh colour surrounding them creating a calm atmosphere.

Blue Fairy Wren Bird

This is a portrait by Hexagonal Mandala of an Australian male and female superb blue fairy wren (Scientific Name: Malurus cyaneus), which is also known as a Mormon wren, Gould’s blue wren and a long tailed superb warbler. The male in breeding plumage is easily recognised with his beautiful blue colour. Non-breeding males, females and juveniles are predominantly grey-brown, but females can be identified with a brown rather than black beak. I have a breeding male and 3 or 4 females or juveniles that regularly frequent my backyard. Often seen flitting around the tadpole pond, their lively hops and bounces are intriguing to watch. At the time of creating this image I have a pair that are showing great interest in a thick tangle of vines in our yard, this is the perfect area for nesting. During the day the female’s "peeet-peeet" sounds can be heard as her male franticly flitters close by. This Australian wildlife image is an original Hexagonal Mandala fine art, digital illustration approx 11x16 inch on high quality artist paper.

Miniature Drawings - SOLD

6 examples of little miniature art images (ACEO collector card size), that have sold before I had the chance to show them here. The top 4 are created using an ink pen, the bird chicks are using graphite. Quick fun sketches.

Snake drawing -ACEO

Not the type of creatures Ive voluntarily set out to locate in the wild so I decided to use book references for this picture.
Ive encountered a few snakes locally and they make me nervous.

The last snake that I came across was during our floods and I unknowingly got between it and the safety of the long grass.
I turned around when my son yelled at me, to see a black snake strike at my heal, luckily it just grazed my shoe.

The snake in this image is native to northern Queensland Australia and it is a constrictor rather than poisonous.

Now being a large lady, I guess the size of a constrictor that takes me down would need to be equivalent to those that horror movies are made of. But just the same Im happy to make lots of room for the tiniest of slitherers to pass by.

Image is Copyright RB & DA Mathews Soft Solutions - Hexagonal Mandala 2009.

Asiatic Moon Bear Portrait

This is an unusual image for me to create in that it is not a species native to my country nor one that I was familiar with.

It was created with the prompting of a customer whose passion lied in the right of asiatic bears.

The scientific name of the Asiatic Black Bear is Selenarctos thibetanus or Ursus thibetanus, meaning "moon bear of Tibet". It is also called a Tibetan black bear or a Himalayan black bear.

The bear's conservation status is considered threatened mainly by deforestation and habitat loss. This nocturnal omnivore became unpopular with farmers because he is a threat to livestock and has a habit of stripping bark from valuable timber trees, and locals fear his aggression in the wild. They were hunted for use in traditional Chinese medicine. Until the 1980s, when China outlawed the practice. Now bear bile is supplied to the industry by special farms. These farming practices are currently debated as cruel and inhumane because synthetic ursodeoxycholic acid is just as medicinally effective and cheaper.

This artwork shows an Asiatic bear free to roll in the grass. His soft, clean fur gleaming in the light while his innocent, youthful eyes create a romantic portrayal of the species.

Presented as an 11x16 inch image on high quality artist paper. Copyright belongs to Hexagonal Mandala.

Celtic Knot Patterns

What does an artist do as a break from making art??
I've been working on creating cross stitch patterns...
This is the 9th set in a series.

Why Celtic knots? what a silly question. It is fascinating to weave the threads under and over to create intricate patterns.

I have adverts for my designs at:
Celtic Cross Stitch Link

FROG - ACEO ink sketches

A few drawings from today. These frogs are created with black gel-pen on parchment card. They are ACEO size (art collector / swap cards 2.5x3.5inch). They show 4 different species of frog.

If you had to choose one which would it be???
Sometimes when I sell an artwork I ask the buyer why they chose it and the answers are always fascinating, usually to do with a personal association with the creature that the image portrays. I believe what makes the best art is portraying what the artist has personal experience of and a connection with, whether that is a creature, a scene, an emotion, or a philosophy. Art is a visual language and while these spontaneous, light hearted little sketches are not pretending to be great masterpieces but rather little comments on environmental awareness .

Bug ACEO insect

Bugs and beetles have different anatomy. A true bug has a proboscis for sucking sap or blood whereas a beetle has a jaw for biting. This is a bug found in the vine in my back yard in NSW on the east coast of Australia. I think it is what is called an Orange-bronze bug. This image is only small, printed as a miniature 2.5x3.5 inch artist card. It was created digitally by painting with a pressure sensitive electronic pen directly onto a computer. The colours are applied to a dark surface allowing the base colour to show around each section to create a similar feeling to a traditional hand coloured block print. Im enjoying creating these miniature artworks featuring larger than life creatures, little glimpses at a macro world that surrounds us everyday.

giant FLY - miniature ART

...Left click image to see full size...

"Why on earth is she painting flies?"
"If you've seen one fly you've seen them all!"

I read somewhere that there are hundreds of species of flies. I have personally noticed that the more you look the more colours and varieties you start to see. The little black house flies as art subjects do get a bit boring but if you go out into the long grass in summer you can find some pretty metallic colours. Aussie native flies don't like to come indoors, from what I've read they are the ones that go crazy at the windows trying to get back outside. Flies are an important ingredient in the ecology food chain, and I reckon they make pretty impressive miniature art works. These are all ACEO's (Art Collector Cards measuring 2.5x3.5 inches). Hhhhmmm can you still refer to them as miniature when the subject matter is actually painted a few hundred times larger than the physical object.

Baby Guinea Pigs

...Left click images to view full size...

Calysta and Pippy had 3 babies last night.
I guess Im gonna have to make a few guinea pig artworks.

Cassowary - Ink drawing

Don't ya just love cassowaries.

Huge birds that look like they belong in the dinosaur age, running around at the bottom of the rainforests. They also make me think of the Pachycephalosaurus because of their amazing crown. I also think of the animated movie 'Fern Gulley' when I think of the cassowary.

This is my tiny ACEO drawing of one. My daughter saw it and said it is the first time she has seen a cassowary look pretty. If you've never heard of them before look them up, an interesting species...

FROG - Tutorial

...Left click image to enlarge it...

This is not really a tutorial but rather a selection of screen shots of the image at different stages of completion. The image is created digitally by drawing/painting directly onto a computer with a pressure sensitive pen and digital drawing tablet. Although it is using a relatively new art media it has still been approached in a traditional manner. This is one of the many frogs that frequent my back yard. I love the pose, how he's energy is all coiled-up ready to spring.

Frog - Miniature Ink Drawings

Occasionally it is nice to revert back to pen and paper drawings. These are two out of a handful of drawings I did tonight.

They show two of the frogs that frequent my yard. The first is an Australian green tree frog on the fence, the other is a common brown tree frog on a bamboo wind chime that hangs outside among the vines. This is a favourite feeding spot as the chime is positioned under a fluorescent light that attracts insect.

The drawings are only small ACEO size, which are the size of baseball trading cards 3.5 x 2.5 inches each. The drawings are similarly styled to how I used to create lino prints, perhaps they will eventually be the beginnings of larger works. I enjoy line work and the challenges it presents. I'm thinking that a larger scale and adding colour could create some lovely bold results.

But for now they are tiny initial sketches and I will be selling them as original art collector cards on eBay as soon as I get around to uploading them.

Cameo Art

A little side-step from my usual animal themed art. I created a cameo. It is presented as a postcard size image on high quality artist paper and will be sold with an 8x10 inch mount ready for framing.

Spider Art - Wolf Spider in Progress

This is a portrait of a Wolf Spider. His patterns and colours allowing him to camouflage into his natural environment. Often a large spider it is not considered dangerous to man. It is one of the most common species of spider.

This nature artwork is available through Hexagonal Mandala. It was created as a digital art work, produced directly onto a computer using a pressure sensitive pen and digital drawing tablet. The finished art is sold as an A3 archival print on high quality artist paper. It is a lovely example of Contemporary Art and Australian Wildlife Portraiture.

The techniques for creating this using a digital media were similar to those of using more traditional materials. The drawing's detail was gradually built-up by layering scribbles of colour and tonal variations to produce a detailed surface texture.

I have uploaded a few images that were saved during the making of the wolf spider to show its development. Perhaps you will find them interesting.

Left click the image below to see it full size.

Bird Photos - in the park

(left click image to view larger version)
A small selection of the photos taken by Di Mathews of Hexagonal Mandala during "a day at the park". These were taken with a canon 1000D digital SLR. The park is a small one in Telarah near Maitland NSW. It isn't much to look at, just a small area off the highway that has a lagoon, not many trees and heaps of goose poo, but it does manage to attract some interesting water birds. These images might eventually become resource material for future artworks.

ACEO Bird Art - Magpie Portraits

These are my 3 latest miniature magpie portraits available through Hexagonal Mandala.

We currently have a small group of magpie that visit our back yard for hand feeding every evening. The love to eat minced kangaroo meat. These portraits are of those birds. They are created by digitally drawing directly into a computer using a pressure sensitive pen and a digital drawing tablet. They are currently available as limited edition ACEO (3.5 x 2.5 inch) collector cards or as postcard sized images on super gloss paper.

Spider art - Huntsman

This Hexagonal Mandala artwork titled "Said the spider to the fly" was hand drawn/painted by Di Mathews directly onto a computer using an electronic pen and digital drawing board. All of the detail and textures are built up with tiny scribbles of colour.

This is a portrait of a huntsman spider, there are over 100 species of huntsman recorded in Australia. Huntsman don't make webs but rather chase their prey. Their main habitat is under loose bark of trees.

This image is approximately 11x16 inches and printed on high quality artist paper.
(left click image to see larger version)

Todays Renders

Three little digital art images created today.

ACEO - More Mini Bird Art

west
"Sparrow in Rain" is a digital painting.
"Wagtail on Fence" is a photograph.
Because my computer is in for repairs (Ive got a temporary machine) I have been limited in the last few weeks on the quantity of artwork Im producing. These are my 2 newest.

SOLD - Original Art

Usually we specialise in editions, but occasionally we sell a once-off image. Sometimes it is a quick pencil sketch or occasionally it might be a rare artist proof print.

This is a small 2.5x3.5inch ACEO (art collector card). It is a quick pencil sketch of a green tree frog.

The coloured Carolina Wrens were part of a work in progress. It was a
one-off "artist Proof" print.

FROG - Pencil sketches

A few pencil sketches based on one of the green tree frogs in my yard.

BIRD - Kookaburra Art

Title: Hunter River Kookaburra
The background is the river near my home and the buildings in the distance are my local shops

Title: At home among the gum trees
The cheeky kookaburra with its beak slightly open, teases the viewers anticipation of the next laugh about to erupt.

Title: Kookaburra Chorus
Three kookaburras perched in the forest.

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. These three images are from a series of paintings which explores species observed at or near my home in the Hunter Valley on the eastern coast of Australia.

A kookaburras is a forest kingfisher famous for killing snakes. It is also known as The Laughing Jackass. Often I hear and see kookaburras on the overhead power lines or resting in the tall trees. They are best known for their unmistakable loud call which is like hysterical human laughter. It is the highlight of my day to hear them, their laughter sounds guaranteed to bring a smile to my face as my eyes scan the neighbouring trees to capture a fleeting glance at them.

Since ancient times birds have been regarded as mediators between heaven and earth because of their associations with the sky. They are seen as embodiments of immaterial things, particularly the soul. Wings are often associated with heavenly beings the most obvious is angels.

Angels boldly laugh
as immortal souls fly.
Flapping wings swoop
ending the serpents reign.

These three images were created by hand drawing/painting directly onto a computer using an electronic pen and a digital drawing tablet. They are original works which are copyright protected. The works are for sale as 11x16 inch prints on high quality artist paper. Copyright Hexagonal Mandala Australia 2009

ACEO - Miniature Bird Art

ACEO refers to "Art Card Edition or Original".
They are 2.5x3.5inch collector cards (the same size as baseball cards). ACEO's represent an affordable way to collect miniature contemporary art pieces. Their size makes it easy to frame the images or display them in an album. These are a few of the miniature bird ACEO images that I've created. Each is digitally hand painted directly onto the computer and presented as a limited edition, each print is an original not a reproduction. Clockwise left to right - cockatoos, silver eye, blue fairy wren, emu & chick, heron, yellow breasted robin and in the center are a pair of variegated wren.

FROG - Brown Tree Frog

This artwork was hand drawn/painted by Di Mathews directly onto a computer using an electronic pen and digital drawing board.

It shows one of the small brown tree frogs that frequent my back yard. Unsure of the viewer it sits coiled ready to spring. Its animated pose adds tension to the image, while the muscle tone and underlying physical structures adds to the realism.
In the mythology of many cultures frogs are linked to cleansing, healing and creative powers. The change from egg to tadpole then metamorphosis to frog is often used to symbolise the awakening of ones creativity and recognising one's own power of adaptation. A frog is a symbolic reminder of our own ability to grow and mature when faced with difficult situations. A strong frog population is an indication of a healthy ecology due to their sensitivity to changes and toxins in their environment. Frogs therefore are naturally symbols of a peaceful, harmonious coexistence and interdependence with nature. Frogs because of this sensitivity serve as a strong lesson about our own interdependence within a fragile eco-system. Teaching a connection with the earth and everything on it. Sadly numbers of frogs now seem to be dwindling.

Folk wisdom tells that dreaming of a frog means
good fortune, happiness and great friendships.
May your dreams be filled with frogs...

This image is part of a series of frog illustrations, species common to where I live. It is available for sale as a print on high quality artist paper.

BIRD - Australian Magpie

This artwork was hand drawn/painted by Di Mathews directly onto a computer using an electronic pen and digital drawing board.
It shows two juvenile Magpies, known for their melodious song. As a child I associated the call with school holidays at the local lake, bring woken every morning to their sounds. We now have a family of these living in the tree behind our house. Who are happy to be hand fed.
This image is part of a series of backyard birds, species common to where I live. It is available for sale as a print on high quality artist paper.

BIRD - Cuckoo Shrike

This artwork was hand drawn/painted by Di Mathews directly onto a computer using an electronic pen and digital drawing board.
It shows different views of a juvenile Black Faced Cuckoo Shrike. This bird was brought to us when local kids found it fallen from its nest. It is still too young to fly. As it matures the bird will loose its' grey pattern which will be replaced by an all-over smooth, silver body and a bold black face. The plant that it is perched on is a Jade tree, commonly thought to be lucky.
This image is part of a series of backyard birds, species common to where I live. It will soon be available for sale as an 11x16inch print on high quality artist paper.