Tag: Drawing

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Oniscus asellus vs. Armadillidium vulgare

Is it a Sowbug or a Pillbug?

A lot of the species we come into contact with on a regular basis at home, in the garden, or out out for a walk, are introduced species. Some become invasive and make headlines, causing obvious and recognizable damage to the environment. While other species quietly do their thing, making themselves right at home in their new environs, blissfully unnoticed.

Take the wood louse, er.. sowbug.. pillbug.. no no, roly-poly. See, this is when binomial scientific names comes in handy. It seems every locale has their own common name for these critters. This however is dually confusing because we are in fact dealing with TWO surprisingly different animals. So let’s clear this up.

Sowbugs, Oniscus asellus (oniscus from ancient Greek for small donkey) and Pillbugs, Armadillidium vulgare (you guessed it, armadillo-like. Vulgare means common). Both were inadvertently introduced to the New World from Europe, probably on trans-atlantic ships, several hundred years ago. Sowbugs and pillbugs are similar in appearance and their common names are sometimes used interchangeably.

*The three photos above of Armadillidium vulgare were taken from the web. I know I have some great photos of pillbugs, somewhere.. but I can’t seem to find them.

Both are terrestrial, soil-dwelling crustaceans that belong to the order Isopoda. They are the only crustaceans that have adapted to live a completely terrestrial life. However, just like their cousins.. shrimp, crab, lobster and crayfish.. they have gills which need constant moisture, so they tend to live in moister northwest climates.

The sowbug has a pair of tail-like projections which extend from the rear of its body, while the pillbug does not have any extreme posterior appendages. The pillbug can roll up into a tight ball when disturbed, whereas the sowbug can sort of fold itself in half, kinda. This is why pillbugs are sometimes called “Roly-Poly” bugs.

They do not bite, sting or transmit disease. They are harmless to humans. They primarily feed on decaying organic matter, but sometimes nibble on things in the veggie garden. Like all crustaceans, they go through a molt 4 to 5 times during an average lifespan of 3 years.

So now you know. Tell a friend. Pick one up and take a closer look next time you run across one of these terrestrial isopods.

– Aaron

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Lichens

Those who lichen.. lichen a lot.

So lichens are cool. I mean, what’s NOT to lichen? Composite organisms consisting of both a fungus and a simple photosynthesizing organism like algae or cyanobacteria. Up close, lichens reveal an amazing array of colour and tiny networks.. daunting if your plan is to try and draw the darn thing.

But I’m a sucker for patterns.. especially naturally occurring ones. Lichens are just that! Big ol mess of repeatin patterns. And I’ll admit, this is probably the one organism that I just couldn’t (still haven’t) fully wrapped my head around. Soooo much fine detail!

As a subject of study and appreciation lichens, no matter the type, really try and draw you in to their labyrinth of detail. I start to feel this obligation to share EXACTLY what I’m seeing in person. This is when I remind myself, that this is why the photograph was invented.

But as abstract inspiration, the possibilities seem endless. So I guess, here is a first look at a few of my attempts at capturing the lichen world.. and I might as well toss some learnin out there too.

As in all my posts, I take all my own photos with my trusty Samsung Galaxy S9 (cutting edge technology folks).. no editing, just some cropping. All of these lichens were observed within a 15 minute radius of my house in Burnaby, British Columbia, with the exception of the two photographs below. The yellow crustose lichen was found on a south-facing rock at the peak of Whistler Mountain, and the grey crustose lichen was found growing at Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver.

Lichens are grouped into three main types:

  • Foliose – which have a leaf-like appearance.
  • Fruticose – are highly branched, either hanging or standing up.
  • Crustose – are the ones that look like a crust that has formed on a surface like a rock or tree trunk.

The algal (or bacterial) component is the autotroph in this relationship. It supplies the nutrients to the organism through photosynthesis. The fungus protects the algae from desiccation and also provides it with a means to grow and attach to whatever substrate.

..and if you enjoy being bombarded by Latin and scientific terminology, do yourself a huge favor and look up lichen taxonomic classification or Lichen Growth forms and internal structures. Good times my geeky friends!

They are slooooooow growing and everywhere. It is estimated that 6% of Earth’s land surface is covered by lichens. And they are not a picky lot either. Some lichens were exposed to Martian atmospheric conditions in the lab for a period of over 3 weeks in 2012.  Despite the weak atmospheric pressure, lack of protection from cosmic radiation, bitter cold and alien atmospheric composition, some species not only survived, but continued to grow and function with relative normality! Lichens can even grow on plastic.

Hummingbirds and other nest building species use lichen for nest building and camouflage. Lichens can even be used in making dyes and perfumes, as well as traditional medicines.

Lichens are eaten by many different cultures as well, though its generally when times are lean. Lichens are not very easy to digest and contains minimal nutritional content. And of course, a few lichen species are eaten by insects and larger animals such as reindeer. Remember kids, no reindeer, no Christmas!

So love a lichen! A delicate, yet resilient organism that’s been practicing unchecked socialist behavior in our forests, across our tundra, and on the sides of volcanoes since the beginning of time (or at least since the devonian). Living in mutually beneficial, symbiotic, cross-species, relationships. Buncha single-celled hippies.. chillin, sharin.

– Aaron

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Populus trichocarpa

The Black Cottonwood – Salicales Salicaceae Populus trichocarpa if you wanna get picky.

So here’s a sketch I did of some black cottonwood branches in early Spring of this year. It’s a subject I come back to time and again. Leaves are few and far between in early February, so I thought I’d tackle some of the otherwise hidden textures present on the gnarly leftovers from last season. Cottonwood has such character and always has something to offer when I’m itching to sketch and stuck for ideas.

Love em or hate em, I think here in the Lower Mainland of BC, almost everyone has a relationship with the cottonwood. This local tree evokes all kinds of emotion in people, for different reasons, at different times if the year. Every season seems to offer a number of reasons to hate and enjoy this local monster.

Like when it’s allergy season. I count myself as one of the lucky ones who get to enjoy the sweet fragrance of their sticky buds on long walks this time of year.. while others need to remember their daily, 24 hour, fast-acting, non-drowsy antihistamine or suffer the litany of symptoms we all know so well from the seasonal pharma-jingles on the radio, television and such.

Or later in the year when its fluff season. Making it appear to snow in June, the fluffy seeds accumulate into large drifts, becoming knee deep for weeks on end where I live. Every year, big gobs of fuzz inevitably sneak their way into the house and collect in the most hard to reach places. But outside, like in Burnaby’s numerous wetland and repirian habitats, the air can erupt in a beautiful storm of unseasonably flurry-like conditions with the softest of breezes.. and you don’t have to worry, most people are allergic to the pollen not the fluff, so dive in!

Or is it when the winds pickup in early fall. The air starts to cool and the large egg-shaped leaves, almost as wide as they are long and beautifully coloured, litter the paths and sidewalks. That time of year when you get to throw on a light jacket and maybe a scarf for the first time since last year. The breeze starts to blow and you notice how loud the dried leave are rustling high up.. and then you look back down and discover your car’s windshield has been destroyed by a fallen branch as thick as your leg. You know, that branch you park under everyday on the street outside, failing to notice its precarious growth and precise targeting.

Maybe it’s the critters? The Black Cottonwood is the ‘live fast, and die young’ poster child of our local deciduous tree species and do not live very long. However, they grow very quickly and they grow huge. It is one of the few trees big enough to hold bald eagle nests. When branches break off, large open cavities are created high up in the canopy.. perfect nesting sites for any number of owl and woodpecker species, raccoon, squirrel, etc. A sure favourite of numerous species including invertebrates, plants, and eventually fungi and bacteria.

And at ground level and below, the cottonwood’s aggressive and uncontrollable growth can sometimes be costly to home owners. Branches shed regularly and cause damage to roofs and gutters. Roots can destroy sidewalks, driveways, plumbing and drainage. And they are pretty indestructible. In fact the shoots and roots contain so much rooting hormone, even a small piece of fallen branch can root and become a clone. They survive most major weather damage and even a clear-cut at ground level won’t kill this survivor.

Indeed there are plenty of grounds for disappointment and anger in the case against the the Black Cottonwood. But it does play an important role in our local environment, as well as in our homes. In fact, if you happen to be using Scotties toilet paper here in BC, it probably came from cottonwood pulp grown in Chilliwack and made in New Westminister. So there’s that. Maybe not such a pain in the ass after all.

Watercolor paintings were done on De Serres Aquarelle 300 gsm coldpress watercolour paper by Fabriano. I can’t remember the exact colours I used in my ‘soup’ of paint, but they are most definitely Windsor & Newton Professional watercolour and possibly some raw sienna by PWC Premium Extra Fine watercolour. I tried a stylized approach to painting the branch above. I like how it turned out.

For the pencil sketches, I used the same mechanical pencil I use for most of my drawing in the field. I found it in the car under the passenger seat, so who knows where it came from. It’s loaded with .07mm HB lead. I’m drawing in one of my Moleskine 13 x 21cm plain paper Cahier Journal. I absolutely love the paper’s smooth finish.

Couple Extras:

I think that hormone thing is pretty interesting. I have heard there is enough hormone present, that an extract of the shoots can be used as a rooting hormone for all types of cuttings. Shoots are gathered, chopped and soaked in cold water for a day to create the solution.

I also know, from the horrible stains they can leave on your patio and concrete, that a yellow dye can be obtained from the leaf buds. I have made walnut ink before.. I’ll have to try this next year sometime.

It’s also cool to note that on older trees, the bark becomes fissured, gnarly, thick, and very hard.. hard enough to cause sparks when being cut by a chainsaw.

– Aaron