Don't play with it

Firstly, an ink sketch.

Starting to lay down the colour with pencil crayon.

More colour added.

And then some more...

I started adding in the marker colours.

Adding more marker colour

And then some more

Added a few bubbles and my signature just in case the piece went so horribly wrong from here.

Started adding a light background

And then I was all done.

There's two different edits as you can see. If you prefer one look over the other and don't see it as an option, let me know and I'll make it available.

The link is here Caribbean Reef Squid so you can bring squiddy home!

Today was a Facebook meme turn into reality - specifically the ones that ask if you can survive without Internet. However, it was worse than that. I woke up this morning to no cellphone service or Internet. What does this feel like? Incredible disconnect. Last time I experienced something this similar was post Ivan, the major hurricane that hit Grenada.

I felt slightly sick this morning and picked up my phone to call my boss but then? No cell reception. I left home and remembered I never called back my dad but then? No cell phone reception. I was running a few minutes late for work and was about to call my coworker Roxanne but then? No service on my phone. Got to the office and was about to see if any work emails came in but then? No internet. Wanted to follow up on an order I made but then? No internet.

So what do you do when you can't make any calls, any messages, any emails, etc? Essentially disconnected from the world and anyone aside from those immediately near you?

Me in my work dan dan in the bush.

Yonder the estate.

Roxanne was absolutely terrified to stand this close to the edge as there's a very long drop. She took this photo of me standing as close to the house as possible...

The view

The estate house.

**Update** Well when I got home and eventually got connected to the rest of the island and world once more, I learned that there was an earthquake that did something to the submarine cable and disconnected the data, internet and phone LIME service nationwide. Additionally, we were and still are code Orange Alert for Kick 'Em Jenny's pending eruption. Kick 'Em Jenny is a underwater active volcano. So apparently the day could've very well indeed ended up feeling like an Ivan experience.

I should've posted this a while now for those of you visiting my page and wondering what exactly is happening. I'm going through an update to my template while keeping my blog live. Hopefully, all the work will be done soon. Keep visiting...!

A dear friend and fellow blogger, Lizelle, introduced me to Sharpie's extensive collection of markers. Prior to that moment, I had not personally used markers since I was in high school. My interaction between then and the moment she brought her pack over to my house was with my primary school aged kids that I work with from time to time at SGU GAP.

With that said, even though I felt a bit silly using it as a serious medium, it piqued my curiosity to dabble in it some more. Since then, I found some artists on the Instagram artist communities that used markers as a professional medium that got me a bit more open minded about taking it more seriously.

To be honest, I like mediums that have immediate permanency. On one hand, while it leaves room for little to no error, it means that when you complete your last stroke, you're done. This is one of my primary reasons for working with ink. I dislike having to do test sketches. I prefer to study what I'm supposed to draw and then... just do it, like Nike.

The SGU students tend to sell stuff at the end of the semester, so when I saw these Sharpie markers up for sale, I grabbed them. After sitting and collecting dust on my shelf for months, I decided to start experimenting with them before they got all dried up. The bottom is my first "serious" marker piece in over a decade.

As expected, I didn't have the patience to do a pencil outline which I would have to erase... so I did a pen sketch,

Started laying down the lightest colours first. I have no idea if Sharpie markers obey the laws of other mediums, but from past experience, lighter colours are easiest to become dirty. I'd hate for my yellow to become "kinda yellow" and "kinda brown."

Started laying down my green colour.

Then identifying shadow outlines and colour blocked areas.

Started filling in the colour blocked areas...

This is what it looks like now.

My current job had enabled me the opportunity to part-take in the preparation and to be a participant in a walk event. The UNDP-ICCAS (United Nations Development Programme - Integrated Climate Change Adaptation Strategies) in collaboration with others such as GIZ, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Petite Martinique and Carriacou affairs hosted a Climate Change walk. The first one was hosted the day after my birthday, May 30th. The last two in Petite Martinique and Carriacou were hosted on the 25th and the 26th of June respectively.

It was a lot more work than I anticipated, a lot of responsibility and required quite a bit of planning. Prior to this, I never realized the importance of prioritizing with a check-list down to the smallest items, like toothpicks and tissue paper. Thankfully, it was a learning experience which we were able to pull off smoothly with grace as a team. All three endeavours were successful. In Grenada, we had at least 800+ people in attendance of the walk, and in the two smaller islands, 300+ at minimum.

I wish I could say in detail how everything went beyond my responsibilities but I can't. In abstract, what one envisions on the day and placement, ultimately results in following up and focusing on delegated responsibilities and ensuring your part is done so that the whole thing flows as it should. With that said, the only walk I was able to get a snippet of the crowd experience was in Petite Martinique.

Sheena and I at our booths with the Grenada MPA (Marine Protected Area) tattooes on our cheeks.

We had exhibtions, display booths and fun activities for children at the end of each walk. In the Grenada walk, I was responsible for securing the delicious lion fish samples. What is lion fish you ask? It's an fish native to the Indian/Pacific ocean that has managed to make the Caribbean its home too. The problem with it adopting a new residence is that the ecosystem is different to where it came from. The sea life found in Caribbean waters have that island life personality too where they're not in a hurry to attack... whereas in the Pacific, similar species are much more aggressive. The nice, friendly nature of our fish have made it the perfect environment for the lion fish to be prolific and thrive, and with no predator to keep populations in check - they eat everything. Thus, while it's all great being a lion fish chilling in the Caribbean, it hurts our Caribbean marine ecosystem, including our reefs.

Lion fish (image from wikicommons)

As you can see in the picture above, it's a very pretty fish. However, the spines extending from the body are mostly poisonous. I say mostly because not every spine can hurt you... but who really has time under water to try and figure out which not to poke at. A prick from the spine won't kill you but it'll make you feel like impending death with pain in the location of the prick. Hence, most locals are hesitant to even go close to it. I remember once spearfishing with Chuck and my friend Jeremy, and Jeremy pointed out a lion fish to Chuck and his immediate reaction was to head in the opposite direction as if just looking would mean he'd get hurt. With that fear comes distrust of consuming the fish. The flesh is actually fine to eat - the poison is only in the spines of the fins.