#asteraceae-and-sapphire

[gyldowen-draws]

Tav Tuesday Round 3!

I'm having a blast drawing all these awesome Tavs, so here's four more! Here's this week's line-up:

Pelesaria by @asteraceae-and-sapphire | Phaedra by @heyitsjaki Maeve by @for-tymora | Alphonse by @choccy-zefirka

[gyldowens-blog]

Fandom Peeps to Get to Know Better

I saw this on @harvestar's blog and I thought I'd join in!

3 Ships You Like: I have a bunch but if I had to choose just three . . . Rhys/Yor (my OCs), Laurent/Gerome (Fire Emblem Awakening), and Zagreus/Thanatos/Megaera

First Ship Ever: I probably had one earlier, but the first one I remember is Jacuzzi Splot/Nice Holystone from Baccano! lol

Last Song You Heard: "21st Century Nightmare" by Nick Lutsko. It's been stuck in my head on repeat for the last few weeks (it's a banger!)

Favorite Childhood Book: Ug this is really hard. It's a tie Between The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (I actually met the author and he really liked the bookmark I made so he asked he could have it in exchange for some signed merch) and Abhorsen by Garth Nix (I just re-read the whole series recently and those books are still so so good!)

Currently Reading: The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson (I think it's my favorite out of the series so far). My best friend got me into the Mistborn books but he hasn't read this one so I don't have anyone to scream with about it 😭

Currently Watching: Dungeon Meshi!!!!!!!!!! I get so excited every Thursday (me despierto y digo es el jeuves de dungmeshi y me hace feliz jaja)

Currently Consuming: I just had cheese tortellini with marinara sauce for dinner!

Currently Craving: Nothing at the moment (I had too much pasta lol)

Tagging: If you're feeling up to it (no pressure) @asteraceae-and-sapphire and @snowy-weather

[friendlystarfruit]

I’m always looking for new writers and artists to follow and since i trust your judgement i thought id ask you if you had any recommendations?

my mutuals mostly artists @we-dont-talk-about-potato-nonono @friedwings @asteraceae-and-sapphire (writer (not sure if they do requests tho)) @raes-art-corner (check out their comic they also sometimes do art requests) @randompurr

<3

[gyldowen-draws]

Look at this incredible art!!!!!! I'm so in love with it, it's not every funny. Thank you so so much 🥰

(@asteraceae-and-sapphire look at our boyssssss!!!!)

artfight revenge for @gyldowen-draws / @gyldowens-blog

[chaospyromancy]

I don't know how i forgot to ask, but what do you think Andromeda would do if she were somehow transported to the Lands Between?

she would made a ton of new friends and get nothing done at all

[jana-hallford]

September Birthstones and Flowers

Sensational Sapphire

A symbol of purity and wisdom, sapphire is the birthstone for September.  

At one time sapphires were believed to protect the wearer against evil and poison. Sapphires were even thought to be capable of killing spiders and venomous snakes.   

Sapphires are a form of the mineral corundum. Blue is the color associated with this precious gem, but sapphires can also be white, yellow, orange, green, and purple. There are no red sapphires, as all corundum in red hues are rubies. The sapphire, and it sister stone, the ruby, are second only to the diamond in hardness. Sapphires are found in Eastern Australia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, China, Madagascar, East Africa, and North America (primarily in Montana).    

A six-rayed "star" can appear on a sapphire when the underlying crystal structure has just the right pattern of needle-like inclusions. This is known as a "star sapphire."

Down the ages, sapphires have been popular with royalty. When Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer became engaged in February of 1981, Charles offered her a choice of a dozen rings, and she selected a 12 carat blue oval Ceylon sapphire surrounded by 14  diamonds, set in white gold. The ring was not a custom piece, and was available in the jeweler's catalog, but Diana chose it because it was the most beautiful. (She was also very fond of sapphires.) When their son, Prince William, became engaged to Catherine Middleton in 2010, he gave his bride-to-be, the future Duchess of Cambridge, the ring his mother had loved.   

Diana, Princess of Wales, also received some fabulous sapphire jewelry as wedding gifts. The Queen Mother gave her a large oval sapphire and diamond brooch. Diana had it converted into the clasp of a seven-strand pearl choker, and wore it often. It was magnificent. Crown Prince Fahad of Saudi Arabia gave her a set of sapphire jewelry, including a watch, earrings, a bracelet, and a beautiful diamond necklace with a sapphire and diamond pendant.

Chrysolite: September Birthstone Emeritus     

Before birthstones were standardized in 1912, chrysolite was a September gem. Today, chrysolite can refer to peridot, the gem-quality form of olivine that is the birthstone for August. It is also an archaic term for yellow to green stones including topaz, chrysoberyl, zircon, tourmaline, and opatite.

In the New Testament Book of Revelations, 21:19, chrysolite is named as the precious stone garnishing the seventh foundation of the city wall in New Jerusalem.

Aster and Morning Glory: Hardy Beauties 

The aster and the morning glory are the birth month flowers for September.    

A genus of the flowering plant family Asteraceae, the aster is a daisy-like flower known since ancient times.This hardy flower brings a pop of color to a late summer and early autumn garden, and symbolizes patience and powerful love.  

The name aster comes from the Greek word astḗr, meaning "star," because of its ray-like petals. In Greek mythology, the compassionate goddess Astera, distraught when Jupiter caused a destructive flood, asked to be turned into a star, then wept for the dead. Her tears became asters. 

The Ancient Greeks believed burning the leaves of this plant could drive away snakes, similar to the way sapphire’s properties were supposed to kill serpents.

“White Aster” is an epic Japanese poem written in 1889 by Ochai Naobumi, about a maiden found as a child among white asters.      

The morning glory opens early in the morning, hence the common name for more than 1,000 species in the flowering plant family Convolvulaceae. Some varieties are especially suited to creating summer shade on trellises. Their attractive flowers can even thrive in poor, dry soil.

Morning glories symbolize affection. Perhaps because this is a robust plant with short-lived flowers, there is a duality to it. In  Victorian times it was a symbol of undying love, and also of unrequited love. Because the flowers bloom and die within a short space of time, morning glories often decorated the graves of children.

American artist Georgia O'Keefe’s many beautiful flower paintings include her well-known 1935 work,  "Blue Morning Glories.”   

E. Nash 1908 postcard for September, from the Birthday Gems series.

My  E. Nash postcard for September, from their 1908 Birthday Gems series, has a sapphire stickpin in the upper right corner, beneath a gold “guiding star.” “September” appears in the upper left corner, above a framed verse, and a spray of pink asters that spans most of the card. The greeting “Wishing you a Happy Birthday” is centered at the bottom. The verse reads:

The Sapphire of heavenly hue Brings great wisdom unto you The blooming Aster tells you true Life’s happiness you will never rue Thy Star shines out from the sky above And its rays disclose the light of Love

I like the color and composition, the shadowing, and the way the asters and stickpin are partially in the bottom border.

Tucks astrology postcard for September, circa 1910.

I also have a Tucks postcard from about 1910 from an astrology-based birthday series, with the sign “Libra” next to the word “September.” A landscape with a house by water and a small boat are framed with morning glories and a chrysolite pendant. The words “Morning-glory” and “Affectation” (not “Affection”!) are in the lower left corner, and centered at the base of the card is the verse: 

“A chrysolite on brow shall bind, ‘Twill cure Diseases of the mind.”

This month I remember the birthday of my dear “Betty Mom,” Betty Jean Wible, and wish all September babies a happy birthday!

[gyldowen-draws]

🌊 🧜‍♀️ MerMay Giveaway 2024! 🧜‍♂️🐠

It's finally MerMay again, and I'm in the mood to hold another giveaway!

The Rules:

Must be following me @gyldowen-draws

Reblog this post to be entered (you can reblog as many times as you would like, and more reblogs = more chances to win)

You have until 4:30 PST on Friday, May 17th to enter

One winner from Tumblr and one winner for DeviantArt will be randomly drawn from all that site's entries and will be notified Friday evening (whenever I get home from work)

All my usual commission will's and won't still apply

Please be kind and courteous, we're all here to have fun!

The Entries:

In addition to rebloging this post, you can earn additional entries by:

Rebloging any of my art with the tag #mmgiveaway24 = +2 entries per reblog

Adding a nice tag to your reblog = +3 entries per reblog

Drawing art of my OCs (past art counts!) = +7 entries per art piece

(I will occasionally update this post with how many entries each person has)

The Prize:

The winners will receive a fully rendered drawing of their chosen OC as a mermaid!

Here are some past winners:

Mellatiel belongs to @asteraceae-and-sapphire and Esther belongs to @darling-leech

Ruth belongs to @snowy-weather

Please feel free to send me an ask or a message if you have any questions!

Have fun and good luck! 🧜

[gyldowen-draws]

I saw @harvestar do this so I thought I would make my own lol

make a poll with five six of your all time favourite characters and then tag five people to do the same. see which character is everyone's favourite.

These lil guys live in my head rent-free, please send help

I’ll tag @asteraceae-and-sapphire and @snowy-weather if you are interested!

[gyldowen-draws]

Developmentober Day 1: Nice to Meet You

Here's a very rough sketch of the moment Rhys decides to ally himself to Chima and the group for the very first time! I have plans to one day turn this into a fic, but my writing muse has been AWOL so we shall see . . .

The basic run-down is that Rhys was hired as a bodyguard for an utter buffoon of an Ordrian noble by the name of Baron Martendros Cadryn of House Ryviden who had recently come into a tidy sum of money and is trying to save his crumbling house. This renewed status bought Baron Martendros an invitation to the moot, but it didn't seem to buy him security. So he hired Rhys, specifically because of Rhys' criminal background and experience with the less savory parts of society. Meanwhile, Chima had gotten a tip that something hinky was going down at this moot, and that House Ryviden might be the key. Following this lead, Chima (with Yor as backup) went to make contact with the Baron's newly hired and suspicious bodyguard. Following the mercenary's code, she sent a drink to Rhys' table and he invited her over to do business. Rhys didn't feel any love for his employer, but he refused to do anything that would break his contract (a dangerous situation for a free elf in Ordray). Chima convinced him to at least let her meet Baron Martendron (for a price of course) and they shake on it. Unfortunately for Rhys, the moot went sideways and his employer got himself killed out of sheer stupidity. Now with his burgeoning mercenary reputation in tatters and a dead Ordrian nobleman on his hands, Rhys decides that his best bet is with this rag-tag group trying to prevent continental war.

This was inspired by Foolish-Hearts's amazing Developmentober list. Thank you so much for these great prompts!

Also a huge thank you to @asteraceae-and-sapphire for letting me borrow his girl Chima and helping me flesh out the backstory. You Rule!

[gyldowen-draws]

Yesterday was @asteraceae-and-sapphire's birthday, so I made him a little celebratory Chima! Happy day of birth my guy 🥰

[gyldowen-draws]

Happy Pride, Y'anae! 🏳️‍🌈

I couldn't draw Aradrel without also bean-ifying her Wildflower lol. Both lovely ladies belong to @asteraceae-and-sapphire

Want a pride bean of your very own? Check out this post!

[gyldowen-draws]

🌊 🧜‍♀️ Mermay Giveaway 2023 🧜‍♂️ 🐠

I had so much fun doing my giveaway last year, I thought I'd bring it back for 2023!

The Rules:

Must be following me @gyldowen-draws

Reblog this post to be entered (you can reblog as many times as you would like, and more reblogs = more chances to win)

You have until 4:30 PST on Friday, May 12th to enter

Two winners will be randomly drawn from all the entries and be notified Friday evening (whenever I get home from work)

All my usual commission will's and wont's still apply

Please be kind and courteous, were all here to have fun!

The Prize:

The winners will receive a fully rendered drawing of their chosen OC as a mermaid! Here's last year's winners:

Mellatiel belongs to @asteraceae-and-sapphire and Esther belongs to @darling-leech 😊

Please feel free to send me an ask or a message if you have any questions!

[gyldowen-draws]

Introducing my new OC!

Professor Mal-Greska'Zas Syl'varys

What started a a fun little character design has grown into a fully fleshed out OC, with the help of my dear @asteraceae-and-sapphire!

I love her 🥰

More fun facts about Greska under the cut!

She's a professor of mathematics and complex arcane equations

She's L'morhi's math teacher at university

Her students call her Professor Sly'varys

She took her wife Opal's last name

They live together in a cute brownstone over the flower shop that Opal runs

They have a very old Irish wolfhound named Rufus

Together they raised Opal's two nieces and one nephew after their parents were killed

Everyone assumes that she's very gruff and strict, but she's actually very patient and nurturing, just quiet/reserved

Her and her brother were raised by accountants for a merchant company that traded between all the Orc tribes

She is actually the most outgoing and boisterous of her family, if you can believe it

She's a giant nerd who loves to create new mathematical formula to quantify everyday things

She believes that mathematics are the language of the gods

She has a passion for teaching and wants her students to see the joy and utility of math

She has a very bitter rivalry with the calculus professor

Her hidden talent is juggling!

[gyldowen-draws]

Happy Pride, Aradrel! 🏳️‍🌈

This ray of sunshine belongs to @asteraceae-and-sapphire

Want a pride bean of your very own? Check out this post!

[gyldowen-draws]

Since I drew Rhys, I just had to draw the boy Yor! Love him so much 🥰

(@asteraceae-and-sapphire and I share joint custody to his dude lol)

Want a pride bean of your own? Check out this post!

[gyldowen-draws]

I am absolutely obsessed with this picrew so I made all of @asteraceae-and-sapphire's and my OCs from our fantasy story!

In order we have:

Rhys and Yor,

Chimamire and Mellatiel,

Y'anae, and Aradrel

I love them all so much! 🥰

And bonus L’morhi!