Friday 18 August 2023

Friday Face OFF -- Koala Bear

For this week's Friday Face OFF link party
of art featuring faces, hosted by Nicole of

Here's a koala bear
done in pen and ink.


Now, if this koala bear
looks familiar to you . . . 

It's because I posted it before
when I did the same piece
in a coloured pencils class
taught by the same teacher!


Despite their being cute as hell,
I've read that in real life
koalas are apparently
bad-tempered little bastards
who smell like menthol cough candies
due to their steady diet of eucalyptus leaves.

Can any of you verify that
from your own experience
of this animal?

[Art & photos of art © Debra She Who Seeks, 2023 and 2022]

44 comments:

Bob said...

My experience has been through pictures where they look cute and cuddly, so I'll stick with that!

Moving with Mitchell said...

I only know the cute and cuddly versions I've seen in zoos and in your drawings. I learned at the San Diego Zoo that their teeth and claws are very sharp and they can be dangerous if cornered. I never asked about their breath.

My name is Erika. said...

That koala bear is so adorable. And wow, they are both super. Will you add color to the pen and ink drawing? Happy weekend. :)

Travel said...

I was wondering if they are as cute and cuddly as they look. Looks can be deceiving.

DVArtist said...

You are a brilliant artist. I would love to know/see your technique for hair and fur. You are a master at it. Thank you for sharing with FFO and have a great weekend.

sirkkis said...

I love both although they have a bad behavior 😊 haven't ever meet.
You're drawn them masterly; the colored is the top 👍

Debra She Who Seeks said...

@ My name is Erika -- No, I don't think I'll add a watercolour wash to the pen and ink version. I never know when to stop when I do that, LOL!

Joyce said...

Only seen as round blobs at the top of Very tall eucalyptus trees courtesy of the San Diego Zoo. Lovely drawings though.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

@ DVArtist -- You are too kind, Nicole. All the credit goes to my instructor who taught us the technique of small, short, meticulous strokes.

Boud said...

Lovely rendering. I've seen people handling koala babies, not adults. But I'd be grouchy too if all I got to eat was eucalyptus leaves.

Marie Smith said...

The only koala we saw in Australia was quite docile and non scented. Lol.

Great drawing, Debra. Love it.

Iris Flavia said...

Very big WOW on both versions!
Very, very well done!
I only once touched a Koala in Caversham Wildlife park near Perth, Western Australia.
The poor fella was clearly stressed, but my friends urged me to touch him/her. And they were right. The fur felt so special due to all the Eucalyptus - hard to describe. Very, very soft and seemingly oily at the same time. But I didn´t smell any coughing-pills, LOL!

Sixpence Notthewiser said...

OMG Debra!
You just made me change my mind on B&W drawings! They are usually my favs, but I think I prefer the one in color this time!
And I've never been THAT close to a Koala. I'd be scared.

XOXO

Lady M said...

Awe that is the cutest thing ever. Never met one.

Deedles said...

Wow, I can almost feel the fuzz!

Busy Bee Suz said...

I have heard that they can be little turds, but they're so cute. I love both versions of yours, and they DO look like cuddlebugs!

Ellen D. said...

I don't know about real koalas but yours are adorable!

Valerie-Jael said...

Your Koala drawings are both fabulous, beautifully done! I only know Koalas from the zoo! Hugs, Valerie

Mike said...

I've heard that about Koalas.

Your consistency between the two drawings is amazing.

carol l mckenna said...

Both drawings of the Koalas are awesome ~ so well drawn and creative ~
imagine they are cute and temperamental as most animals ~ The have to survive in the wilds ~

Wishing your good health, laughter and love in your days,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)

Tasker Dunham said...

I have no idea. But my mother used to call them "cola bears".

Parnassus said...

Hello Debra, I like both versions--in the color one the koala stands out more because it is differentiated from the branch and leaves, and also the edge fur from the more central fur.
.
These drawings bring back memories of commercials for Qantas Airlines.
--Jim

Tundra Bunny said...

Both of your Koala drawings are wonderful, especially the one in coloured pencil on black paper! I've only ever seen Koalas on TV, but I wouldn't want to meet up with those claws in a dark eucalyptus tree!

Fundy Blue said...

I have no experience with koala bears, but I've heard similar things about them, Debra. Both drawings are amazing, but I like the pen and ink one best. The branch is such a dominant feature in the colored one, and the face is pulls you into the drawing in the black and white one. Is this a baby koala? I just want to pick it up and hold it!

angela said...

Just koala. Not bear
Yes they can be bad tempered espresso during the mating season and the sound they make is awful
Since they only eat euchre leave they probably do have a menthol smell. Since I’ve only ever seen them in zoos our in the open I’ve not really noticed a smell maybe the handlers give them a quick wipe down They are very cute although their talons could do a lot of damage

roentare said...

You drew this so beautifully!

Gigi said...

All I can say is, WOW! You are so very talented.

Guillaume said...

Oh he's so darn cute!!

Richard said...

Those both look great! I like the colored one best, but I think the black and white maybe took more work. Thank you for sharing with us.
You have talent, thank you! If I was a koala, I would probably be grumpy too, from time to time. It can't be easy.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

@ angela -- Thanks for the correction! I guess I'm just too used to called them "koala bears" since that's the term in use when I was a kid a gazillion years ago. But they're not actually bears at all, are they -- they're marsupials!

Anonymous said...

They are a bit like sloths in that their low calorie, indigestible diet of leaves doesn't leave much energy for brain power. Humans are kind of off their radar unless we insist on handling them, which of course we want to do because they are fluffy. We don't have them wild here on the west side. Tina in west oz.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

@ Tina in west oz -- Thanks for that koala info! I didn't realize that eucalyptus leaves aren't a particularly nutritious food source for them.

Kirk said...

I think that's true with any undomesticated animal. No matter how cute, they're not going to want you to touch them. But then what Darwinian process makes koala bears cute anyway? Best to be homely if you'd rather not be cuddled by a human.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

Your koala is amazing. That fur is out of this world.

My friend in Australia, Sami, has visited several koala parks. You pet their fur, but not their heads. According to Sami, they live about 15 years because of their non-nutritious diet Sami said they also don't drink water.

Conducting a search of her site, here is info and photos:

https://sami-colourfulworld.blogspot.com/search?q=koala

Hope that helps, Debra. Sorry to be so late visiting.

Liz Hinds said...

He looks cuddlier in pen and ink!

baili said...

Omg he looks divinely Cute!!!
You are utterly talented girl my friend!
What a lovely, fine and impressive art

https://linsartyblobs.blogspot.com said...

I've not seen one in real life but they do look cute. I've seen them on a UK zoo program and they look quite placid.

J C said...

Haaa. I LOVE this art. Both of them. And I prefer to think of the little ratsass monsters as cuddle sweeties. Go ahead, cuddle one.

E. Thai said...

Love both of your koala artwork. Haven't seen one in real life, so I'll leave it at adorable.

Ur-spo said...

lovely !

e said...

Snuggly cuteness!

This N That said...

I'll stick with the cute and cuddly version...

NatureFootstep said...

how sweet. :) :) Both are great artwork :)

Adam said...

Cute koala 🐨