Starfish & Basket Star
‘Who are you?’
cried the Starfish
from a rock
Slowly, he drew nearer
and examined the strange creature
Hoping it wasn’t hunting its prey
There are already enough parasites.
Was it edible?
Bare seaweed
Diseased coral
It merely sensed the gentle swaying
The presence of something alive.
‘Parasite!’ it cried
Out of fear, it expelled its stomach
There was nothing
No taste of something
The stomach remained empty
Slowly, it crawled backwards.
And waited…
Just a moment…
Am I watched
What’s in my path?
The Basket Star stretched out
Had someone set its sights on it?
It had never experienced this before.
The eerie feeling
Rippling of the water
Those strange sounds it couldn’t understand
One thing was clear
A nasty atmosphere was spoiling the water.
The coral sighed and kept its distance
Even the seaweed remained still.
Both stars
Unexpectedly in each other’s way
Waited
Anticipating what might happen
Unaware of each other’s eating habits.
I wasn’t really in the mood to put a lot of effort into this drawing. In the end, it’s still taken quite a bit of time. The only thing I’m saving myself now is having to use a smaller sheet of paper. To be honest, it’s quicker to bring the drawing to life with a bit of watercolour than with a pencil.
I didn’t quite get the depth right, and after I’d smudged it out a bit, I had to start again to make certain parts darker.
A light sketch, followed by pen and a bit of watercolour, is much quicker.
Because the pencil smudges, I also decided to finish the drawing with Gerstaecker fixative. The product works well, though it did cause another drawing to bleed, with the stuff ending up on the back of the drawing.
Incidentally, I’ve also tried this fixative on canvas where I’d applied oil pastels with a palette knife. There are quite thick layers of pastel on it, but it works brilliantly (three sprays with a day’s drying time).
Materials:
- sketch pad - A5 - 130 grams
- pencil 3B
- fixative - Gerstaecker
7.11.26
NaNoWriMo prompt: starfish
#artonsteemit #drawing #painting #creative #steemexclusive
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Corals... the sea...
It immediately brings to mind the Red Sea with its endless reefs and countless inhabitants.) I kept sticking my finger into some kind of blue shell, and then I read that it could snap shut and bite my finger off.)
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Really? You were lucky then or was that shell empty?
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It wasn’t empty! There were beautiful, bright blue mollusks—I’m not sure what they were called.
But when we were leaving, we bought a book at the airport titled "The Underwater World of the Red Sea" and discovered that they aren’t just harmless, cute little creatures after all!
Ha-ha, that’s a myth!!!!
The blue mollusks often seen on coral reefs in the Red Sea (for example, off the coast of Egypt) are giant clams (Tridacna).
• It is strictly advised not to touch them or try to make them close their shells by casting a shadow over them. The myth that a giant clam might "catch" a diver’s hand like a bear trap is an exaggeration—while their muscles are indeed powerful, a sudden, lethal grip is highly unlikely. Still, it’s best to keep your hands to yourself to protect both the fragile reef and the mollusk itself.
So, that was just made up to keep people from bothering the poor things! And here I’ve spent all these years thinking they were "hand-eaters"!
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stole the picture
Beautiful creatures. Thanks for sharing.
Now I wonder if they also create pearls. What a beautiful creatures they are.
P. S. perhaps the one who spread the word seriously believed it or indeed wanted to protect those Beautiful Creatures or the pearls?
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Depicting the inhabitants of a coral atoll is always an interesting, yet far from easy, task—and you have pulled it off magnificently.
Your amusing, poetic lines create an idyllic scene among the denizens of the deep; after all, if one creature speaks up and declares its intentions before devouring another, it’s almost like a civilized society with its own established code of etiquette! :)
While I was reading the text and didn't see the picture, I couldn't figure out what it was all about))
And then I remembered the reef in the Caribbean :)
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Пока я читал текст и не видел картины, я не мог понять, о чём вообще идёт речь ))
А потом я вспомнил риф в Карибском море :)
How come you cannot see the picture? Doesn't it load?
I can show on Telegram if you like or search for starfish and basket star such a strange creature.
I just started reading the post and the long text didn't end right away. There was only text on the monitor, and as I read it, a picture appeared. It's in place, it's just that at first there was a monitor with letters :)
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Просто я начал читать пост и длинный текст не сразу закончился. Был только текст на мониторе и по мере прочтения появилась картинка. Она на месте, просто вначале был монитор с буквами :)