Wigwags and Zucchini Muffins

A favorite attraction at the Oregon Zoo is now the wig-wag train crossing signal that's across from the leopards. Sorry leopards, but you don't go "ding ding ding" or have a red light in your belly, do you?

A slightly clumsy attempt to capture the dynamic wiggler bouncing around in the cafe chair while eating her muffin. The proportions are all cattywampus, but the general concept of seat as jungle-gym is coming across at least. 

Frisky Bears

Just a couple of bear sketches from a zoo visit last month. * Simplemente un par de dibujos de los osos en el zoológico, hecho el marzo pasado.

Elephants

Elephants are kind of a thing in my family. Back in 1962, when Packy was born at the Oregon Zoo, my grandfather loaded his family into the car and drove all the way from California so they could see the baby elephant. So when my Aunt Lois was visiting Portland earlier this month, of course we had to go visit the new baby elephant, Lily. * En mi familia, tenemos un gran interés en los elefantes. En 1962, cuando Packy se nació en el Oregon Zoo, my abuelo cargó toda la familia en el auto y condució de Californa hasta Oregon para ver el elefante recién nacido. Así que, cuando mi iía Lois visitó Portland esta mez, claro que fuimos a ver el nuevo bebe en la familia de elefantes, Lily.

And in the tradition of Grandpa Chang, I of course had to sketch baby Lily and her mother Rose-Tu while I was there. * Y en la tradición de mi abuelo Chang, claro que tuve que dibujar el bebe Lily y su mama, Rose-Tu, durante la visita.

My grandmother recently send me a letter that ended with, "Hope you are well--draw more elephants!" Yes, m'am. * Mi abuela me mandó una carta recientemente que terminó con la frase, "Espero que estes bien--¡dibuja más elefantes!" Sí, señora. 

Edited to add a photo of Grandpa Chang drawing elephants. * Editado para incluir un photo de mi abuelo Chang dibujando elefantes. 

 

Battle for the Bananas

A couple weeks ago some friends and I went to the Bat House at the Oregon Zoo. We arrived right at feeding time. The best party in the whole zoo! * Hace algunos semanas, algunos amigos y yo visitamos a la exhibición de murciélagos en el Oregon Zoo. ¡Llegamos justo al momento de darles de comer. Es la fiesta más divertida en todo el parque zoologico!

Fruit Bats

Winter at the Oregon Zoo. On a cold and rainy day, the cave-like structure of the fruit bat habitat can not only give you protection from the wind and rain, but give you tons of delight, too. * Oregon Zoo en el invierno. La cueva artificial del hábitat para murciélagos frugívoros nos da protección de la lluvia y el viento, y también nos da tanta diversión.

Watercolor and ballpoint pen. * Acuarela y bolígrafo.

Even when the bats are still wrapped in their wings, not wanting to face the cold, they are delightful. And the complex layers of wings and legs all bundled up for warmth is a fancy puzzle! Bat origami. * Aun cuando los murcielagos están aún envueltos en sus alas, no queriendo meterse en el frío del día ya, me encantan. ¡Las capas complejas de alas y piernas que están envueltos para conservar el calor hace un rompecabezas interesante! Origami con murciélagos.

 "He's like a sloth! He's a really fast sloth." * ¡Es como un perezoso--pero muy rápido!

Baby Elephant

I am happy to report that the 16-day-old baby elephant at the Oregon Zoo is exactly as cute as you would expect. * Tengo placer en declarar que el elefante que se nació hace 16 dias en el Oregon Zoo es increíblemente precioso.

She runs around a lot but also trips over her own feet sometimes. * Ella corre con alegría, pero es muy joven y por supuesto se caye de vez en cuando.

And when she had explored for a little while, she runs back to tuck herself in the safe shelter of her massive mom. * Despues de explorar un poco, suele correr a la albergarse cerca de su mamá enorme.

The difference in shape between a full-grown adult (above) and a baby elephant (below) is very interesting! * ¡La diferencia del forma de un elefante adulto (arriba) y un elefante bebé (abajo) es muy interesante!

Zoo, With Friends

My friend T and her family came to visit over Memorial Day weekend. The kids were as excited to see the zoo as I was, hurrah! Lots of fast monotone sketches as our merry group tried to keep sight of each other in the dense holiday crowd.

My friend T's version of the hippo came out delightfully well too. Hooray for adventures with art-nerds and their nerdiness-accommodating families!

More Zoo Watercolors

Last weekend at the zoo, I decided to play with watercolors. How splashy and free-form could I go? (Ah, the salmonberries are blooming, hooray for spring...)

And how dark and contrasty could I go? (Hello, surly cattle egret! What fine plumage you have.)

Ultimately, I ended up in the middle somewhere, watching the mature elephants proudly swish their tails while the whippersnapper elephant sprayed water from his trunk and playfully head-butted his elders.

I had a good time painting that day. (See also the hippo and Mount Hood.)

Hippo Adventure

I have been little bit obsessed with visiting the Oregon Zoo on weekends of late. Partly, it's the sheer gratuitous convenience of it--I haven't lived so close to a zoo since I spent a summer in Washington DC. So yes. Give me a few spare hours on a Saturday afternoon, and you'll very likely see me making a bee-line to the zoo.

And this past Saturday, there I was at the hippo habitat, and the hippos had hauled out of their pond and were dozing in the sun. I only had 15 minutes until the zoo was going to close, but I really wanted to get the sketch of the hippo in this lovely pose. Boom, whacked out the rough ink outlines, now just need to break out the watercolors and get it painted in...

Mind you, it has been months since I used my watercolors. And the last time we moved, I put my awesome sketching-optimized hip-pack into a box and of course I haven't seen sense. So I'm just fumbling around with a shoulder bag, trying to get my paints and water and brushes all ready, feeling rushed and flustered.

And the next thing I know, the sketchbook has fallen over the fence...right into the hippo enclosure. Whoops.

I couldn't reach it. The lashed-together stakes of bamboo were tall and pokey for reaching over, and too close together to slip a hand through. The tall young woman standing next to me couldn't reach it either. But then her boyfriend gave her a boost, and she performed an incredible (and darned nerve-racking) feat of gymnastics that, amazingly, allowed her to grab the sketchbook. We gaped at each other, stunned, amazed that it had worked. (All the while, passing elementary school students were chatting about how many more people are killed by hippos than by lions each year, too--heightening the sense of danger, indeed!)

In gratitude, I gave the two brave heros one of the "boldly go" cards that I had in my bag. They were delighted--art rescue, art reward.  Perfect.

And, in truth, the hippo sketch really was the best thing I did all day. What a face!

Sunny Day at the Zoo

Well, the rains are back this morning, but this past weekend was full of glorious sunshine. I headed to the Oregon Zoo for the first time, and had a lovey afternoon drawing the various critters basking in the rare winter sunshine.