Fishing cat

Stuart and I got a couple of foam swords yesterday to practice with and probably confused our neighbors.

Art

work on the sphinx

Animal 

Photo by Muzina_shanghai

The fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) is an endangered lynx-sized cat from that ranges from Pakistan to southern Asia. They are said to be extremely ferocious for their size it was reported by (Edward?) Blyth that one he had captured had broken out of its cage into the leopard enclosure next to it and killed the leopard at least twice its size. They eat mostly fish and aquatic animals, tend to live in marshes, and are having a hard time due to habitat destruction. Their claws are very long and can not be fully retracted in the front and their feet are somewhat webbed. They are said to be able to pull their ears so closely to their heads in an effort to keep water out of them that they resemble otters.

video of fishing cats fishing

Cheetah

My place of work is having me take several certifications that I'm not prepared for very soon. This could be a very expensive way to get fired if I do not pass. I wish I knew exactly which certifications I needed to get next month so I could pick up some books to study. The problem being that they are still debating that.

Art 

goal for the week 15.5 hrs

today

still sanding

Animal

photo by Don Van Dyke

Mythology

In ancient Egyptian mythology the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is associated with the goddess Mafdet who was a cheetah headed goddess of legal justice and protection from venomous animals. The Zulu associated the cheetah with the occult and things beyond understanding. In that culture if the people presented their chief with a kaross made of cheetah skin it had a very specific meaning that they were loyal, but did not understand their leader. The legend about the lazy hunter that stole the mother cheetahs cubs causing her to cry until her eye became permanently stained also comes from the Zulu.  The Greek god Dionysus is sometimes depicted being carried in a chariot pulled by cheetahs. They Mughal empire associated cheetahs with royalty and elegance and occasionally used them for hunting in a manner similar to a falconer.

Chinese Mountain cat

I have little excuse for the lack of art yesterday. Before work I started reading the core book for the new game Stuart and I will be running and lost track of time. This game will be based on the Fate rpg system. Then after work I went to club, though it was good to see people. Bill threatened me with a toothpick at Perkins.

Art

Goal for the week still 13.5 hours

Today

still sanding boxes

Animal

photo by Mcelite

The Chinese mountain cat (Felis bieti) is a very elusive cat roughly twice the size of a house cat from Western China. It is also known at the Chinese desert cat though it is not observed to live in deserts, and seems to prefer alpine valleys. It is one of the least known cats and it is thought that there are less then 10,000 of them in existence. They eat mostly small mammals such as pikas and pine voles, so they are quite vulnerable to pika poisoning campaigns. Pikas are have poisoned been poisoned in mass numbers in China since 1958, because it is believed they compete with livestock. The Chinese mountain cat has also been observed holding it's head to the ground to listen for mole-rats and then suddenly digging them out. They are primarily nocturnal and prefer to make their dens on south facing slopes, generally kittens can be found in these dens in May.

Puma

Hello,

This blog is intended for me to help track my own art progress and help me to meet art goals. In addition I will be posting a neat animal on weekdays because I like animals and think that will help bribe me to keep this up. If you read this the last time I did this I may reuse some of the old animal posts but most of them will be new. I somehow feel less silly doing this in blogger, then in live journal.

Art goal this week 20hrs

Items for today

-start blog

-begin "day of the dead box" commission- sculpt skull and bone to be cast

-work on wax dragon

Neat animal

I'm going to do pumas today as they are my favorite animals and it seems best to start off with them. Since they are well known and everybody probably knows all about the biology of pumas or could look it up easily. I'll just focus on the mythology from various cultures

Puma stands guard over the city of Machu picchu along with the condor (Incan). He guards the underworld and eats the sun (Andean). He screams with the voice of a human woman and drinks the blood of livestock (European). He stands at the center of the lodge and each of his limbs hold the power of one of the seasons of the year (Ho-chunk). He moves with no footprints and carefully wipes them out behind him when they are left (european). His scream is the harbinger of death (Apache). He was given the longest bow by Kareya and declared the most powerful of the animals (Kartok).

The sungate a Puma Punka probably in assoication with the god Viracocha who is associated with pumas

Puma over Machu Picchu

Incan puma vessel

Sound of a puma screaming