Elizabeth R. Whelan

Written English has barely changed in 300 years. If you can read Harry Potter, you can read Robinson Crusoe (1719).

gradient.horse Draw a horse, watch it run!

omg everybody go draw a horse this is what the internet was made for

gradient.horse

Happy New Year, Tokyo! 🇯🇵

Black-and-white cartoon of a Roman wooden fortress with a guard on the wall and a large catapult on the left, launching a stone tablet engraved with the Roman numerals “MDXXVI” toward a lone person standing outside and holding a small bundle of goods; beneath the scene, a caption reads: “We sent you a secure access code! Do not share this code with anyone! Your access code will expire in ten minutes!”

😆

It's really annoying. I want to see the 'trending' posts in chronological order, too.

Congratulations, and also, thank you for making Butter Tart ice cream!

An inspiration to generations of artists and illustrators.

My deepest sympathies to you, Thomas.

Very glad to have stumbled upon @pastpostcard.bsky.social! Do read some of these. Just marvelous.

I think I shall send a postcard to celebrate!

'I never speak behind people's backs. If I've anything nasty to say, I pop it on a postcard.' RIP Patricia 'Kitty' Routledge.

We are thrilled to announce that our NEW Large Language Model will be released on 11.18.25.

My favorite Ladybird book!

Sunflower Wallpaper 1897. Not designed or printed by a pipe or king

Nor must you forget that when men say popes, kings, and emperors built such and such buildings, it is a mere way of speaking. You look in your history-books…Did they? or, rather, men like you and me, handicraftsmen, who have left no names behind them, nothing
but their work?

-William Morris

There's something very Terry Pratchett about this!

I loved the dresses in this book, particularly the blue ball gown. Funny how that stuff stays with you through the decades!

Don’t gift our work to AI billionaires: Mark Haddon, Michal Rosen and other creatives urge government More than 2,000 cultural figures challenge Whitehall’s eagerness ‘to ­wrap our lives’ work in attractive paper for automated competitors’ Original British art and creative skill is in peril thanks to the rise of AI and the government’s plans to loosen…

Don’t gift our work to AI billionaires: Mark Haddon, Michal Rosen and other creatives urge government

UK soil breakthrough could cut farm fertiliser use and advance sustainable agriculture Research group says discovery could lead to new type of environmentally friendly farming A biological mechanism that makes plant roots more attractive to soil microbes has been discovered by scientists in the UK. The breakthrough – by researchers at the…

UK soil breakthrough could cut farm fertiliser use and advance sustainable agriculture

Hi all, I am doing a demo on painting flowers over at the Cozy Corner Cafe in Edgartown, MA, this afternoon at 4 pm (Tuesday 11th) -- it will be a quick demo of an hour, but I hope to share some tips to make your painting and drawing life a little easier!

Drop by if you can!

I love to see sketching encouraged in museums. It The act of visual note-taking with even the roughest sketch will allow you to slow down and see objects and details you might otherwise have missed.

It's a way to acknowledge craftsmen and artists who came before us.

Looks a little Narnia-esque! Wonderful.

Alas, I think that might be 2025's goal too

Writing tip: After you finish, go back & cut all the adverbs. Then all the adjectives. Then all the other words. Eat the paper. Now you're free.

Here’s something to think about as you kick off 2025: ✨We are all stardust.✨

Every atom of oxygen in our lungs, of carbon in our muscles, of calcium in our bones, of iron in our blood—was created inside a star before Earth was born.

Image: NASA Hubble Space Telescope, CC BY 2.0, flickr

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH

A painting of two decaying trees in winter with autumn leaves underfoot.

Some more art... Bluesky is really getting good, isn't it! It's been amazing to watch the audience build up so rapidly.

This is one of my favorite landscape paintings, if you can call it that. I felt the trees looked as if they were dancing, so I called it:

Jive Talkin'
24 x 18", oil on canvas

Why does it say #sandpaper! That should be #tonedpaper! Would like to be able to edit... all in good time, I imagine!

Still not quite sure what to post here! How about a sketch I did last night with the online figure drawing group at Washington Studio School.

Feel free to join us -- book your spot through their website! The sessions are Mondays 7-9 pm.

#sketch #sandpaper #ElizabethWhelan #drawing #figuredrawing

Sharing another recent portrait, and thinking of more peaceful times (like, this summer!)

I enjoy painting people in action, particularly involved in favorite activities, contemporary scenes showing how we live our lives.

'Canoeing with a Friend on Edgartown Great Pond'
24 x 30", oil on canvas

portrait in oils by artist Elizabeth R. Whelan, depicting the former Harbormaster of Vineyard Haven, Jay Wilbur, in a teal jacket and at the wheel of a center console boat in the harbor on a clear fall day.

Fabulous time at the unveiling of Jay Wilbur's portrait yesterday! It was lovely to see the crowd that showed up to honor the former harbormaster of Vineyard Haven harbor, and to talk about the years that have gone by on the Island, oh so quickly.

Portrait of Jay Wilbur
24 x 20", oil on canvas