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:

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

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  2. 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.

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

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

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  5. 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.

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

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  7. @ 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!

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

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

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  10. 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.

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

    Great drawing, Debra. Love it.

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  12. 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!

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  13. 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

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

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  15. Wow, I can almost feel the fuzz!

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  16. 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!

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

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

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  19. I've heard that about Koalas.

    Your consistency between the two drawings is amazing.

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  20. 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)

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

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  22. 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

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  23. 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!

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  24. 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!

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  25. 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

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  26. You drew this so beautifully!

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

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  28. 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.

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  29. @ 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!

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  30. 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.

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  31. @ 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.

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  32. 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.

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  33. 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.

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  34. He looks cuddlier in pen and ink!

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

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  36. 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.

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  37. 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.

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

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

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

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