Octopus Days

Sketch book pages from the time a few years ago when I was obsessed with the octopus.

Sporadically over a few months in 2010 I was fixated on drawing the octopus in various poses and configurations. To this day I remain intrigued by that amazing creature, "a cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda" according to our friends at Wikipedia.

I checked out lots of children's books about the octopus from my local library. Children's books are a great way to start reading about a subject. They reduce most any matter to it's essence and have lots of pictures!

Youtube videos showing the eight-legged denizen of the deep were also valuable in my quest to absorb information on them. I eventually got my fill. But not before I learned how intelligent they are (at least as smart as a cat). The octopus is also a curious, playful creature. Unfortunately they only live 3-5 years.

Here's an interesting tweet I think my fellow Octopus stans would like:

Octopuses are typically antisocial, short-lived, and prone to dying after mating for the first time, which makes them very different to other intelligent animals, but pretty similar to you. https://t.co/1JVehIDtBo

— Ed Yong (@edyong209) July 2, 2019

 

In 2014, I created a painting based on one of my octopus-themed sketchbook pages. It was very fun to give the subject a fantasy treatment. 

See an animated gif based on this painting.

You can see more of

 Twitter feed resources:

"More than 500M years ago, the lineage that would lead to octopuses and the one leading to humans separated. Was it possible…to reach another mind on the other side of that divide? Octopuses represent the great mystery of the Other."https://t.co/Wf8x0meBAK#CephalopodWeek pic.twitter.com/hU4Dsz88K9

— Maria Popova (@brainpicker) June 24, 2021

 

Link to This Terrific BBC film on our tentacled friends:

Octopuses have blue blood, no bones and three hearts. 🐙#OctopusInMyHouse pic.twitter.com/kMeEpoWwpb

— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) August 20, 2019

And another good Octopus Video:

I love Octopi, I’m not sure I could eat one again. It’s World octopus day today. Let’s celebrate this fantastic creature.#WorldOctopusDay

pic.twitter.com/xp6Fmu2NjX

— Bernie'sTweets (@berniespofforth) October 8, 2019

2020 UPDATES: Awesome Video full of Octopus Trivia!

Octopus hide and seek. pic.twitter.com/8GNroHOBQO

— Universal Curiosity (@UniverCurious) January 21, 2020

https://typhlonectes.tumblr.com/post/190502127863/the-glass-octopus-vitreledonella-richardi-is-a

 

OCTOPUS MIRROR TEST!

Curious Octopus Investigates His Reflection in Mirror https://t.co/p0wXaWzdeF pic.twitter.com/TDifo2v2OP

— Laughing Squid (@LaughingSquid) March 25, 2020

Another Fun Octopus Video

Sneaky octopus! pic.twitter.com/CWlqBcF35s

— Mashable (@mashable) June 29, 2020

OCTOPUS COLOR TEST:

Art and text © 2015 by O. Douglas Jennings. All rights reserved.

More Breaking Octopus news:

Octopus research yields insight into the evolution of sleep https://t.co/WnC7CscYBx pic.twitter.com/eisUixG9Ea

— Reuters (@Reuters) March 26, 2021

 

Such a Wonderful Film: My Octopus Teacher

AND Learn more about the making of My Octopus Teacher!

 

Octopuses have been wandering in the oceans for 296 million years.

They have three hearts and blue blood and they can even be elegant in their magical underwater dance.

[📹 Zola Lallo / hawaiiaquaman]pic.twitter.com/tqSIoXJBdv

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) April 6, 2024

Exploring Self with Art in a Museum

Photo by O. Douglas Jennings © 2015. Taken at the Art Institute of Chicago

I love this photo for several reasons. The gallery was not crowded that day and this young man was free to take in the painting, Moulin Rouge, by Toulouse-Latrec at his leisure. His kneeling posture connotes devotion. I'm guessing that he is writing a paper about the painting for school.

Another aspect of the photo is that it juxtaposes modern technology with 19th Century artistic legacy.

I cropped the photo but in the original version, it's plain to see the student is alone. Yet he has also isolated himself through his intense and solitary focus. 

One more photo of a solitary art Devotee:

Photo by O. Douglas Jennings © 2010. Taken at the Art Institute of Chicago

Art psychotherapy can help people explore themselves through museum exhibits https://t.co/zFXbhM6Wr6 via @ConversationUK

— O. Douglas Jennings (@odouglasj) January 6, 2021

Art Gallery Patrons Pics Continue to Intrigue

The photos below were taken as I walked from the main European Painting Gallery at the Art Institute of Chicago to that museums Impressionism section. As I entered the room where Seurat's famous painting, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, was on display, I encountered the scene in the first photo. The viewers looked like wealthy patrons. They had staked out their positions before the masterpiece.

As I made my way through the room, I couldn't help but take another photo of the couple. The man, who reminded me of Daddy Warbucks from the classic Orphan Annie comic strip, seemed much more interested in the painting than the woman on his arm.

Scenes like this fascinate me. You can see my previous entry and photo of gallery patrons here.

Didja' ever?...

Color version © 2014 by O. Douglas Jennings. All rights reserved.

This originally appeared in black and white in my Tigrikorn Zine (I forgot which issue), in the 90s.