Two Years On: Sick Fish at BP Spill Site

BP Oil Fiasco Keeps on Giving Death and Destruction

Open sores aren't the only indication of BP's oil 'spill' damage to Gulf Coast wildlife as Ornate butter fish discovered while surfing the Net...

Illustration: Ornate butter fish, Pentapodus porosus; habitat: Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia; oil & watercolour pencil drawing by Jude Cowell; all rights reserved by artist.

Coral dying under Climate Change effects - LOE

For you: a portrait of Giant Red Kelp with fish as drawn by Jude Cowell.

One of radio's most excellent programs Living On Earth has a six-part series Early Signs: Reports from a Warming Planet which details current effects of global warming on various regions and habitats. (Audio or text.)

Part V concerns the distressing fate of South Pacific coral and every Dreamyfish in this gallery cheers for any help you can give their habitat and brethren in this matter.

Ready for genetically modified salmon?

Ready or not, America, here it comes: the US FDA is about to okay genetically modified salmon for our suppers.

Well, since salmon is my very very favorite fish for dinner and since Frankentein food is one of my worst nightmares, I am decidely not dreaming of GM salmon on my din din menu. And their increased size is hardly the issue.

In fact, this sounds like a lousy gene-altering idea to me.

How does it sound to you, little Spotted boxfish?



(He doesn't look remotely interested, does he? But every salmon-eating bi-ped should be.)

Polka dot boxfish, a portrait

Polka dot boxfish floated into Dreamyfish Art long enough to have his portrait drawn for you!



Polka dot boxfish, Ostracion cubicus (Linnaeus), hails from Rosemary Island, Dampier, Western Australia.

Fishy Visitor from Carnac Island

You have a visitor from Carnac Island, one you've met before. It's Mr. Slender weed whiting enquiring, "How cool are the waters off Western Australia?"

For as you may know, Carnac Island is home of the Tiger Snakes, eek!

Portrait of a Magpie morwong

Magpie morwong is my name, West Australia knows my fame, brown and white stripes as you see, don't you wish you looked like me?

~:~

Pencil portrait by jude cowell for Dreamyfish Art 2009+ of a Magpie morwong, Cheilodactylus nigripes (Richardson); fish in drawing based on a photo by Rudie Kuiter; background imaginary as in a dream...

Jude's Storefront now available.

False Senator Wrasse says Hello!

A charming False Senator wrasse has floated by to say Hello and to give a tout-out to the political observations made through an astrological lens which occur regularly at Stars Over Washington if you're game.

Yes, it's true that irrascible false senators abound on Capitol Hill but not so many remain in the oceans of Western Australia, as this little fellow might attest. He's an Aussie native, you know.

And he'd like to take this opportunity to say: Save Our Oceans!

~:~

Note: You are cordially invited to check out my new blog if you dare at Two Hours You'll Never Get Back, a tapestry blog woven of many subjects - and do send along your own blog or site link if you think we're a match! jc 5.5.09 2:14 pm edt

Sargassum fish video + a Blue-spotted Trevally portrait

This National Geographic video shows Sargassum fish artfully camouflaging themselves to blend in with sargassum plants in order to ambush unsuspecting prey...kind of like Washington politicians who pretend to be caring human beings the better to pounce upon us, but never mind that.

And here's a pencil portrait of a little Blue-spotted Trevally from Western Australia - ready for his supper and wishing he could be as artful as a Sargassum fish!



~:~

If you must, you'll find more Politics available at:

Stars Over Washington (since Oct 2005) and Jude's Threshold, a tapestry blog of Art, Astrology, and Politics...with a light sprinkling of Political Poetry upon occasion.

Plus, there are more botanical drawings and Children's and Cosmic Art to be viewed at Secret Moon Art for when you're in a most mysterious mood.

But there's one thing no longer a mystery: we must Save Our Oceans, people!

Pale sweetlips returns!

Look who's returned to Dreamyfish Art...it's Pale sweetlips of Western Australia!

drawing by jude cowell 2009+

Bridled weed whiting groks New Moon in Pisces 2.24.09

Oh look: Bridled weed whiting is peeking from the algae just in time for Feb 24's New Moon in Pisces, sign of the two fishes!

As you know, the mythology of Pisces relates to spirituality and mystery, and 'hiding in plain sight' is its talent through the sign's connection with nebulous Neptune.

Now astrologically, I use traditional rulers for signs which makes Jupiter ruler of Pisces, though I may refer to Neptune as co-ruler or a higher octave of Jupiter, aka the Hierophant in Tarot.

Idealistic, ideological Jupiter relates to traditional religion while Neptune is more of the 'spiritual' component in our psyches...Neptune is the divine source (and also ruler of the seas in which little fishies swim - it turns up in our dreams as the ocean = the unconscious.)

Astrologically, Neptune also stands in for the masses and represents the collective unconscious, although psychological Pluto has a say as well.

So with Tuesday's New Moon, we may expect a new phase of such spiritual, mysterious, or creative issues, if we so desire. But the weekend (this is being typed at 1:22 pm est on Friday 2.20.09) is the dark of the Moon, the Balsamic phase, 3 days during which the I Ching cautions us to lay low, dream, rest, and perhaps create...things which Pisces adores without any prompting at all!

You may wish to view the horoscope of Feb 24's New Moon 6Pis35 with details - including midpoint pictures from the chart which is set for the Capitol Building, Washington, DC (est.)

And the New Moon's Sabian Symbol for '7 Pisces' is to be found at Stars Over Washington for your evolutionary consideration.

So Happy New Moon, Everyone, and treat a fish to lunch!

Moonlighter hails weekend's Full Moon in Cancer

Moonlighter has dropped by to celebrate this weekend's Super Full Moon in Cancer, sign of the crab. 'Super' because Moon is at perigee, Luna's closest approach to earth for all of 2009.

As you know, Cancer is a Water sign which conjures up oceanic visions of primordial ooze, and this little Western Australian Moonlighter may have been hatched under Cancer's rays...who knows?

And you may wish to view the horoscope chart of the Full Moon (21Can02) with details.

There will be a Mystic Rectangle pattern overhead as well as a YOD, or Finger of God, pattern superimposed one over the other.

As usual, I've set the chart for Washington, DC with a squinty eye cast toward political thespians because that's how I roll - with Political Astrology, aka Mundane Astrology, when I'm not at my drafting table drawing little fishies.

Check it out if you get a mo!

Knightfish, the pencil portrait

At last! I've managed to render a fresh new Dreamyfish image and it looks as if he's a Knightfish, Cleidopus gloriamaris De Vis swum over from Houtman Albrohos of Western Australia...and here you spy him ensnared within his favorite, rather colorful, dream.

Or, more to the point perhaps you, dear viewer, are merely a figment of a fragment of Sir Knightfish's fondest dream...?

Well, are your socks damp? That'd be your clue.

Actual size of drawing: 11 1/2" X 11 1/2" unmatted, mailed flat; original available $90US; contact Jude for more details at: jude dot cowell at hotmail dot com. Thanks!


~~:~~ and please! respect artist's copyright; and if you'd like to see this image in my Lulu Storefront for your inexpensive Downloading to a spiffy poster as you will, you may wish to navigate your fins over to Lulu for more images of artwork.

In my Lulu Storefront I've tried to include such themes as: Children's, Botanical, Cosmic and Moon Art, Figure Studies, Chiffonery Art (for 17+ers.)

Elsewhere online you may run across Paper Collages perpetrated by yours truly with everything from ancient sculptures to zebras' backends making cameo appearances. And what would a collection of collages be without meerkats showing up?

So you are cordially invited to drop by if and when ya can, and leave a shout-out note there (or here) if you may.

Lulu Storefront note: Breaksea cod is now available as an Art Print as well as for Download. You may find that Breaksea is a handsome fellow so why not check out his snoot shot today!?