A Gallery of images of animals in the wild and domesticated, digitally enhanced and processed as artwork on a range of products and gifts for yourself or a loved one as a thank you, or congratulations, or a present for a special occasion.
Tropical Fish - Freedom of the Seas
Tropical fish may be freshwater or salt water species and characterised by their bright colors. Many of the salt water variety, marine tropical fish, live amongst or in close relation to coral reefs and many species can exist in a small area of a reef, hidden or well camouflaged.
Although coral reefs occupy less than one percent of the surface area of the world oceans, they provide a home for 25 percent of all marine fish species. Loss and degradation of coral reef habitat, increasing pollution from oils spills, and overfishing threaten the survival of the coral reefs and the associated reef fish.
The images used in the gifts shown in this gallery feature shoals of marine tropical fish with the typical alternating bands of black and colorful stripes characteristic of many species.
The text Freedom of the Seas and Saoirse Na Mara (the Irish language version) is associated with some of the items, reflecting the importance of ensuring the oceans remain free and unpolluted for the benefit of all marine and aquatic life.
The Common Tern - Sterna Hirundo
A group of common terns, collectively known as a committee of terns is the focus of this design. The species here shows the Common Tern whose head and head feathers are distinctively black, breast white, tinged with gray and swallow-like forked tail.
Some of the items show one large tern followed by progressive waves of smaller terns in greater numbers radiating from a centre point outside the image, generated as a fractal design. It gives the impression of terns in a symmetrical flight pattern similar to waves breaking on a shore.
The vintage illustration dates from a publication on British birds and their habitats in 1899. The species here shows the Common Tern whose head and head feathers are distinctively black, breast white, tinged with gray and swallow-like forked tail. The tern is a smaller seabird than most gulls, many people often mistaking a tern for a gull.
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The Camel - Camelus dromedarius
There are two species of camels. The dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the Bactrian camel has two humps. Contrary to popular belief the hump does not contain water, but a reservoir of fatty tissue which, when metabolized, generates water. Other physiological adaptations enable the camel to survive in harsh desert conditions that would otherwise prove fatal to other species.
The focus on this gallery is on the dromedary, in particular, camels for sale at the weekly camel market at Goulimine in south western Morocco where traders buy and sell their animals. The annual fair in June every year attracts buyers and sellers from the Sahara Desert. Camels are not the only focus here as many craftsmen come to Goulimine to sell their goods. Tourists frequent this part of Morocco attracted by unique metalware, pottery and handcrafted goods where hard bargaining is required.
The items for sale in this gallery are based on photographs taken by the author at Goulimine in south Morocco, near the Spanish Sahara, Mauritania and Algeria, where several camels were on display for sale.
The Mule
A mule is the offspring of a male donkey (Equus asinus) and a female horse (Equus caballus). The mule at the focus of this gallery is one at rest in a village in South West Morocco. The saddle bags are empty but a fully laden mule can carry over 200lbs ( 90 kg); that's about 20% of its body weight.
In addition to possessing stamina and endurance, mules inherit the the determination of the male donkey and the intelligence of the female horse from which mules are bred. The mule is used to transport goods wherever the terrain and conditions are too rough and harsh, or the cost of tractors prohibitive.
In Africa the mule will be found at work in extremes of temperature, from the snow in the High Atlas mountains to the heat of the Sahara, and in heavily populated urban locations such as the Medina in Fez, the worlds largest car-free city.
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Vintage
A family of five brown pet rabbits with floppy ears ouside their farm hutch. From a vintage engraving by unknown artist in an undated publication; research suggests it dates from the period 1860 - 1865.
