Ursa Major

in watercolor •  7 years ago 

 

“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” ― Oscar Wilde


Watercolor/ink - Ursa Major

I consider myself northerner though it could be discussed in different contexts, mostly political that I have absolutely no interest in. I remember learning about Ursa Major or the Great Bear (constellation visible in northern sky) when I was little. Stars have always been present in Latvian mythology, folk tales, poems and songs. It sparked my curiosity to look up at the night sky.

It is one of the biggest mysteries right there, the same way you look inward at your personal, tiny, mysterious universe. I remind myself to look up, to look at the bigger picture whenever I manage to get lost in my tiny universe and realize the insignificance of my own suffering. It gets so much lighter when you put it in this perspective.   


When was the last time you looked at the night sky? Do you recognize some of the constellations out there?   


Song of the day: Muse - Explorers
Thought of the day: Simplicity by design
Tiny happiness of the day: Working on something you love to bits

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Nice, this is awesome! I love art of the universe, because it can be somewhat random, while still retaining a degree of scientific accuracy. Not sure how much sense that makes... But looking at the universe is like looking at something completely organic. There is nothing "designed" about it, it is all just true randomness, and yet we as humans tend to find meaning, like we do with the constellations. We know so little about what is out there, entire civilizations have risen and fallen, and to us on earth, it is all just drops of light on an unreachable background. I hope to be alive the day that we first set foot on mars, and beyond.

One day, i want to buy a wide angle lens, and go do astrophotography. That has always been somewhat of a dream for me. Being out in the nature, by myself in the middle of the nice. Would be lovely

I love your lengthy comments @emilclaudell! ^^ Thank you!

Have you ever wondered if everything in universe is true randomness why we humans have this need to create everything by design and have silly sets of rules and norms, values and specific meaning for everything we touch? We are such strange creatures.

I hope to witness the day humans set foot on Mars. I even wrote a letter to Mars once https://steemit.com/drawing/@m31/letters-to-red-planet

When I was studying tourism I always dreamed of organizing stargazing tour somewhere in the mountains with telescopes and plenty of green tea, and even some fun space music. One day, one day! ^^

I actually often wonder that :) I mean, see all those posts comparing the universe to a human mind, suggesting that we are living inside some giant creature. It must be in our nature to find meaning in something meaningless, i mean, look at religion. The universe wasn't created with a purpose, the universe simply exists, with or without us.
I'll go read that letter, sounds cool :D

And that idea sounds awesome, i would definitely sign up for that :D

  ·  7 years ago (edited)

This is some beautiful overlap coloring! I love it and it is complete constellation not the asterism(just the tail :) ). Looking at this gave me an idea (which maybe you could realize :D connecting the polar star and all the circumpolar constellations where every constellation would have its own color pallet :)
Cheers! :)

Thank you so much @svemirac! ^^

First of all I just noticed you have Westworld in your avatar! How excited are you for the new season to come? Hehe

I though about doing couple of them, because this was just pure joy to create. Will see, will see :)

Thank you for sharing your work, skill and effort :)

Haha it won't be too long now, only one more year to wait, clock ticking - it doesn't look like anything to me . :D
Well, I am looking forward to anything you come up with, checked some of your previous posts, you have an admirer! :)

Yes, we so rarely look at the sky ... Watercolor is wonderful, thank you! Also draw, invite to my blog ...

Thank you @sinilga! :)

Why do you think it is so? We just get so use to it or too consumed with our own existence? I often think about it.

You have lovely drawings ^^

To my understanding, the constellations used to look more recognizable, but they don't quite look the same over the centuries.

Have you heard this as well - I'm probably just talking crazy again.

And how do you get the speckle in the black portion of the stellar cloud?

Thank you for your comment @overkillcoin! ^^

Not sure if I have heard. Is Ursa Major visible from your location?

Speckles are made with ink pen. Haha!

I also watch the stars often and I think that we are not alone in the universe. I also find it fun to track north with the stars.

Thank you for commenting @markos86! :) Oh, I have no doubt in my mind that we are not alone. If we are possible and all the bizarre creatures on this Earth are possible, it must be possible on some other rock somewhere out there as well.

Is it popular activity in Finland? I mean tracking with the stars? ^^

It's not very common to track the stars because nobody teaches how to do it. Someone told me how to do it when I was a kid.

Here is a little help for both of you ;)
how to track constellations. If needed more info just ask. :)

A trick my 4 y/o realized which impressed me is that binoculars make a pretty good telescope. We don't get a lot of clear skies where we are be he is a moon chaser.

Oh that reminds me that I got these binoculars from my grandpa that used to belong to my dad. I shall try them out and see what I can catch! ^^ Thanks, Eroded!

Even better, dad can look at the stars with you.

Orion the hunter is my favourite :)

Aww Orion! I have funny memory about spotting and recognizing Orion for the first time. I don't recall whether it was me who said that or one of the others next to me, but it was "Orion!" slight pause "big bastard!" or something along the lines in Latvian. So now each time I see Orion I say that. Hehe.

Ha Ha :D

this is so lovely :)

Thank you @kymio! ^^

What a lovely post and art piece, you are very talented :)

Aww! Thank you for your kind words @silvanaj! ^^

My pleasure, I look forward to seeing more :)

When I lived in Australia, I could tell the approximate time when I stood on my porch and looked at the position of the southern cross over the mountains. I was able to work it out even as it changed throughout the year.

When I came to Finland, the first thing I noticed was that I was in foreign skies.

Thank you for sharing @tarazkp! ^^ That must have been pretty strange. Now I don't remember so well if I have such observation about the stars, but when I was in Greece during summer I was fascinated by how short the sunset was in comparison to here.

It is really strange I think how slooooow the sunsets can be here.

mmm I love it! "It is one of the biggest mysteries right there, the same way you look inward at your personal, tiny, mysterious universe."... the two are so related in the great mystery of life.. i don't know many stars, but i was just looking at them late last night (after i finished steemin hehe) when i went outside and heard the coyotes howling and owls hooing... pretty magical to remember how small we are. and i feel like that only adds to the value of life.

Thank you for sharing @mountainjewel! :) It is indeed magical feeling. We are these tiny, fragile specs with consciousness. It is pretty remarkable to think about in that scale.

Wow, I love the painting. The color combination is simply perfect!

Thank you @oyvindsabo! I am really happy how this one worked out. I even see a little bear head in there (you know.. the Great Bear). It was not on purpose at all :)

Ah, now I see it too:D

I don't look at the sky that often anymore, but when I was a kid, I could have stared at the sky for forever! I live in Finland and especially in winter, it is dark here most of the time. The thing is that the sky here is so similar all the time, it doesn't change much... When I was traveling in southeast asia and oceania, the sky was SOOOO different!! Of course it is, I was on the other side of the planet, but still it took me by surprise. :)

Thank you for your time to comment @lindiry! ^^ I have never traveled so far (or just haven't noticed the difference), but if I do I am looking forward to witness this surprise myself one day.

The colors here you used are lovely! I do like to go star gazing and do some star photography once in a while when the situation (lack of light pollution) is right! :)

Thank you @polebird! :) I would love to go on stargazing tour or aurora borealis tour one day with telescope and good lens to capture good images.

When I was writing this post I thought about those poor people who live in big cities where light pollution or air pollution is so bad that you can't see anything. I feel sorry for them.

It's great to see more of the ink and water color combination! I see it's a major part of the picture here.

Unfortunately, I don't think I look up into the night sky and even if I did, the smog and light of the city has almost strangled it out into non-existence. But spring will come and give me the chance to enjoy some nights in the country where the night sky is still into its own.

Ursa Major was the first constellation I learned about when I was very little.

I love constellations and how small we can feel in such immensity. The way you capture with your art is fantastic! It was a great post!

Definitely loving the new series :)

Just found your blog and love the pictures you are creating! Bu i don't recoginze alot from the nightsky in their. But i thats probably because i am just not creative enough haha. Gonna show this to my girlfriend she will probably get you. Great blog mate u got a new follower!

u guys are the best on steemit. Could you vote my art please... Im glad if you vote me... Here my link https://steemit.com/steem/@platonicform/make-you-feel-my-love-9462e982c572f i am very grateful to you 💟💟😊

So much love for this post! The art, and your words. You and I are going to get on just fine, I think.

I'm busy with a project, making art using fractals, one piece for each of the Cosmos documentary episodes. Really looking forward to blogging about it =)