contact me to commission art or teach a class
swordwhale@yahoo.com
https://www.facebook.com/swordwhale
Tune in to my Facebook page for livestreams as I work!
join my Patreon and support your local artist! ...and get free downloads and things!
https://www.patreon.com/swordwhale?fan_landing=true
join my Patreon and support your local artist! ...and get free downloads and things!
https://www.patreon.com/swordwhale?fan_landing=true
Fanfiction and random ramblings (mostly Elves):
https://www.inkitt.com/teanna
https://www.fanfiction.net/u/290949/Teanna
Skyfire
or... how I died and got a magic sword
Latest in a series of short tales of the E.L.F.
Full story here: https://www.swordwhale.com/skyfire.html
"When? Where? You humans always want to nail it down, carve it in stone, fasten it to a piece of earth that has shapeshifted into something else by now, to a time marked by calendars that aren't even accurate." I stared at the woman, beautiful in the ways deer and trees and horses and solid earth are. A line of Elvish script spiraled up one arm, it read, in English, 'luminous beings we are, not this crude matter', and I always heard it, and repeated it, in Yoda's voice when I saw it. "It's all dust now," I said.
Rain peered over her enormous coffee mug ("I only snap before coffee"), light from the woods outside poured through the big windows, across the hand carved wood of the table. "A pebble launched into an ocean, but it still made ripples."
Rainger, Rain, Rainy-rain, she's the Ranger, I'm the Elf. Her parents were almost as nerdy as she is... as I am... when they named her Rainger. But they had no idea she'd end up with the Earth Life Foundation...yeah yeah, bad pun acronym, talk to the Dwarves about it... helping kids turn over rocks and identify macroinvertebrates in the stream, lecturing about ravens to bored teens, and fighting evil in Washington by being a very adamant advocate for our environmental concerns.
"Ripples," she repeated, staring into my eyes. It was almost disconcerting. Not many people other than my own kin could do that without taking on an expression as if they'd fallen into the space between the stars.
"Dust." I said.
"THAT'S not dust." She touched the miniature sword hanging at my throat, along with the raven necklace. "And you most definitely are not dust."
"Ehhh." I had been. More than once. "A long time ago in a galaxy..." by now she was matching me word for word. Nerd for nerd.
"...far, far away." she finished.
"Or not so far. Or not so long, as my folk count things."
"We do not count the running years, not for ourselves," she quoted.
Legolas, LOTR, lost at length in the library that's my left brain, or is it the right one? "I don't know the when. There was no gunpowder. There was steel, or was it just iron? Depends if it was Elf-made or Dwarf-made or human smiths. Tiny villages. Hill forts. Sheep, cattle, goats, horses. Men who want power. Power, heh, what is it and why do they want it?"
"With great power..." Rain began.
"Comes great privilege, or so they felt. And they did not want to lose their privilege. They wanted more, always more."
"Clearly Spiderman needed to show up a few millennia earlier."
"Welp, they got Eoin and a Ravenkin."
Full story here: https://www.swordwhale.com/skyfire.html
Kids need to see themselves in stories...
...and the elvish way with all good beasts
Lord of the Rings and Middle Earth have been staples in my life since 1978, when I first played D&D and read LOTR. I immediately identified with the Elves. Over two decades later, a kid living in a mountain village in Puerto Rico saw the films (after he'd done odd jobs and saved for a DVD player, one of the first DVDs he got was the Peter Jackson LOTR films) also identified with the Elves. Only "you can't be an Elf, they don't look like you" is what he heard. He had his own Hero Journey of Fellowship proportions, and became an actor. Now Ismael Cruz Cordova is the most elvish Elf that ever elfed in Amazon's Lord of the Rings: the Rings of Power. (he's really awesome). I did the first pic based on stories he told in interviews. I recently re-discovered Twitter. I tweeted it. He liked it. Point is: we are all artists, telling stories, hopefully inspiring and touching hearts. The hard work of he and his castmates and the crew of RoP brings the magic of Middle Earth back to me.
The second pic, with the horse, is based on my favorite part of Lord of the Rings (books): "A smaller and lighter horse, but restive and fiery, was brought to Legolas. Arod was his name. but Legolas asked them to take off the saddle and rein. 'I need them not,' he said and lightly leaped up, and to their wonder, Arod was tame and willing beneath him, moving here and there with but a spoken word: such was the elvish way with all good beasts." Book 3, Chapter 3, pg. 51
In Rings of Power, "an elf walks into a bar" in the first episode. Arondir trails a hand and greets the wolfhound guarding the place. It was absolutely the elvish way with all good beasts. Now they just need to get him a horse.
Click on the links to see the tweets...
The second pic, with the horse, is based on my favorite part of Lord of the Rings (books): "A smaller and lighter horse, but restive and fiery, was brought to Legolas. Arod was his name. but Legolas asked them to take off the saddle and rein. 'I need them not,' he said and lightly leaped up, and to their wonder, Arod was tame and willing beneath him, moving here and there with but a spoken word: such was the elvish way with all good beasts." Book 3, Chapter 3, pg. 51
In Rings of Power, "an elf walks into a bar" in the first episode. Arondir trails a hand and greets the wolfhound guarding the place. It was absolutely the elvish way with all good beasts. Now they just need to get him a horse.
Click on the links to see the tweets...
https://twitter.com/swordwhale1/status/1572284276296785920/photo/1
https://twitter.com/IsmaelC_C/status/1572313571455012864?s=20&t=3Ioh4hmhJ2ZVjsvhbE_Pug
https://twitter.com/IsmaelC_C/status/1572313571455012864?s=20&t=3Ioh4hmhJ2ZVjsvhbE_Pug
here's the latest book
$15, email or FB message me your name & address. Paypal is your friend.
Black Horses is part of a YA contemporary fantasy series that has been in the works a very long time. It is rooted in my own lifetime of experiences with horses, and in particular, one wild black mare named Lor, who came to me, wild as can be, at age 8.
This story gallops over the now familiar land and waterscapes of southcentral PA, the DelMarVa Peninsula, and the islands of Assateague and Chincoteague, which I discovered in the Misty of Chincoteague books by Marguerite Henry, illustrated by the wonderful Wesley Dennis. I first went there in 1972, the last year Misty was alive.
At some point, an illustrated version will be available. This one will be available at our Splash event in Dover PA on June 18. After that, stay tuned. Right now, photos from the journey can be found here.
The Chincoteague ponies on the back cover are Riptide's band (in 2022): L to R: Marguerite, Black Pearl, Liz's Serenity, Wildfire, Surfer's Riptide. The bridle on the black mare on the cover is Doctor Cook's Bitless Bridle, which works well on my wild black mare's daughter. The lighthouse is the Assateague light. I am not a costume designer, I do appreciate good design in the many films and series I enjoy... I was aiming for a not-medieval look (I've done plenty of medieval costuming for both me and my horses), because Erda is not our history...
...one might find anything there. Even starships.
This story gallops over the now familiar land and waterscapes of southcentral PA, the DelMarVa Peninsula, and the islands of Assateague and Chincoteague, which I discovered in the Misty of Chincoteague books by Marguerite Henry, illustrated by the wonderful Wesley Dennis. I first went there in 1972, the last year Misty was alive.
At some point, an illustrated version will be available. This one will be available at our Splash event in Dover PA on June 18. After that, stay tuned. Right now, photos from the journey can be found here.
The Chincoteague ponies on the back cover are Riptide's band (in 2022): L to R: Marguerite, Black Pearl, Liz's Serenity, Wildfire, Surfer's Riptide. The bridle on the black mare on the cover is Doctor Cook's Bitless Bridle, which works well on my wild black mare's daughter. The lighthouse is the Assateague light. I am not a costume designer, I do appreciate good design in the many films and series I enjoy... I was aiming for a not-medieval look (I've done plenty of medieval costuming for both me and my horses), because Erda is not our history...
...one might find anything there. Even starships.
below: a small portfolio, and some truly random selfies
WINGS: Rainbow Bridge Pets & othersmemories of old friends, whatever the species
watercolor on vellum bristol, 9x12 or 11x14 Matboard MiniaturesMiniatures: Prismacolor pencil on recyled/repurposed matboard samples rescued from a defunct art store. Sizes vary but about smart phone sized.
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Seaponies of Chincoteaguethe ponies of Chincoteague Island, in their seahorse forms
(maybe your pony is a seahorse at heart too) watercolor on vellum bristol, 9x12, 11x14, or on a folded card Just PortraitsPortraits, just portraits. Watercolor/Prismacolor, 9x12 or 11x14
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Ordering ORIGINALS... a guide to styles and prices
My standard mediums are:
My standard subjects are:
I can create these to fit in an off the shelf mat. You will need to use a mat, and a glass fronted frame to preserve the art. Check my page on framing for details on preserving your art safely: https://www.swordwhale.com/framing-101.html
My base standard prices/sizes are:
"Seaponies" are the ponies of Chincoteague/Assateague Islands, done as seahorses. Most are the Virginia ponies, owned and managed by the Chincoteague Fire Co. I am also familiar with the MD ponies (a separate herd managed by the Park Service) and can do those as well.
I also do other fantasy characters and creatures; purrmaids, seadawgs, mersonas, your pony as a unicorn, winged horse, hippogriff, etc. Ask about custom characters. I don't really do monsters and creepy characters.
Rainbow Bridge Pets are your old buddies, any species, done with ethereal rainbow wings, or other variations on the theme (the ginger kitty above has ginger wings and a bit of rainbow in the background).
I generally do not do canvas works, and absolutely do not do oils. No. Nope. Nada. (too stinky and choking). Ask if you really really want a canvas, or other surface, in acrylics.
Murals: ask for guesstimate according to size and complexity of art you want (finish charged by time involved). I bring the tools, you bring the surface and buy the paint.
My standard mediums are:
- watercolor (with Prismacolor pencil and some acrylic) on vellum bristol paper. May include Folk Art Colorshift acrylic.
- Tradigital combination of traditional media like watercolor/Prismacolor/acrylic with painting or other noodling on Photoshop. You get the watercolor and a fun digital JPG to print as you wish.
- Prismacolor pencil on matboard "smol matboards" are done on repurposed/rescued mat board samples from a defunct arts and crafts store. I often do them at events. Catch me there, and get one for a donation to the artist fund. Order one: $25.
- murals (room size or smaller) in latex water based house paint and acrylic: can be painted on wall, or be portable on masonite or similar base (I do not do tall ladders and cherry pickers). Contact me with details about where, size, and what critters!
My standard subjects are:
- seaponies, purrmaids, seadawgs, and other mer-creatures. From smol matboards on up.
- mersonas (your mermaid character), fantasy characters, portraits; 9x12 or 11x14. These require a lot of reference, matching faces and other characteristics and details, and do not work well at smaller sizes.
- rainbow bridge pets; 9x12 and 11x14. The detail needed for these as well as reference and matching the animal requires larger sizes.
- animal portraits, especially horses; 9x12, 11x14, basic background. The detail and matching actual animal needed requires larger format.
- book/story illustration and covers; 11x14, complexity will determine price. I can also create a JPG or PDF with type for a cover.
I can create these to fit in an off the shelf mat. You will need to use a mat, and a glass fronted frame to preserve the art. Check my page on framing for details on preserving your art safely: https://www.swordwhale.com/framing-101.html
My base standard prices/sizes are:
- $150: 11x14 vellum bristol paper. Seaponies, pets, mersonas, fantasy characters. Good for a full fledged illustration (as for my friend's book illos) or for more than one character. Basic background, fine, add all of Middle Earth, and the entire Fellowship of the Ring, will cost more. Contact me with your idea, and we can discuss! See my book cover for Black Horses, above, as an example.
- $75: 9x12 vellum bristol paper, fits in 8x10" mat opening. Seaponies, pets, mersonas, fantasy characters. One character, simple background (see samples) . Additional characters, $50.
- $50: card on vellum bristol paper fits into 5x7opening mat, or is folded and stands alone as a "greeting card". Seaponies, pets, wildlife. These are one character, with minimal background (swashes of color). Can be seen, matted, at places like Nixon County Park.
- $25: Matboard miniatures: Prismacolor pencil on archival matboard. These vary in size and color, but are about the size of a smartphone. They are recycled/repurposed matboard samples from the framing dept of a defunct craft store. Seaponies, animals, pets. These are one character, with the color of the matboard as background.
- Tradigital: this is a combination of traditional media like watercolor and Prismacolor, but with painting and other enhancements on Photoshop. Prices are going to vary wildly here; you may commission a seapony like Ace (see samples below in the slideshow) then ask for rainbow wings. You'd get the watercolor at its normal price, and the JPG of the tradigital at an extra fee (depending on time and complexity). I can also noodle photos! Please ask for details.
- discuss custom sizes or other ideas as needed: swordwhale@yahoo.com
- Complexity increases price because it increases time and research spent.
- I prefer PayPal (send to friend to avoid fees), but will take checks from some folks if asked.
- It's ok to ask for a "estimated finish date". Usually within a couple weeks!
- I will need many pics of your subject, whether a pet, or you, your mermaid tail, etc. JPGs emailed are fine. Or if it's "my cat has hawk wings" or "my mertail is a betta fish" I can look that up. Describe as much as you can about your character.
- I will send a JPG to be sure the art is acceptable. For larger, more complex pieces, I can send a JPG of the sketch. I also send a large, printable JPG of the finished work.
- I sell you the art only. You have the joy of matching your own mat and frame to your couch or your cat.
- Sent as disaster proofed as possible. If it arrives damaged, we send out the faerie mermaid ninjas and get you a new piece.
- Some art is available at York County PA gift shops like Nixon Park in Jacobus, or at events we do.
- If you buy an original artwork, it's yours to photograph or print (for your own amusement, not for sale). I may still do and sell prints of some pieces, if they are seaponies or other creatures not specifically you or your relatives/friends (which are yours alone). I can also sell you the rights to use a piece of art for embroidery, OOAK dolls, etc.
- I often do live streams on my Facebook page, of work in progress. I can give you a heads up if it is your piece I'm working on.
"Seaponies" are the ponies of Chincoteague/Assateague Islands, done as seahorses. Most are the Virginia ponies, owned and managed by the Chincoteague Fire Co. I am also familiar with the MD ponies (a separate herd managed by the Park Service) and can do those as well.
I also do other fantasy characters and creatures; purrmaids, seadawgs, mersonas, your pony as a unicorn, winged horse, hippogriff, etc. Ask about custom characters. I don't really do monsters and creepy characters.
Rainbow Bridge Pets are your old buddies, any species, done with ethereal rainbow wings, or other variations on the theme (the ginger kitty above has ginger wings and a bit of rainbow in the background).
I generally do not do canvas works, and absolutely do not do oils. No. Nope. Nada. (too stinky and choking). Ask if you really really want a canvas, or other surface, in acrylics.
Murals: ask for guesstimate according to size and complexity of art you want (finish charged by time involved). I bring the tools, you bring the surface and buy the paint.
support your local indie artist/writer & publishers
join me on Patreon, get sneak peeks, tutorials, and book looks
also high quality jpgs to download or print
https://www.patreon.com/swordwhale
Grandma Swordwhale's Mermaiding Book
Grandma Swordwhale's Mermaiding Book is for anyone who loves Planet Water and merfolk.
Merfolk are any size, any shape, any color, any gender, any age.
Putting on a tail and swimming like a merrow is exercise for body, mind and spirit. If you can't swim, you can decorate your mer-grotto, do land based photoshoots, play with green screen, explore your local waters by wading with an underwater viewer (you can make one) or by kayak or by visiting an aquarium. Create your own oasis with a garden pond or fish tank.
You don't have to have lots of money to do any of it. There are inexpensive monofins and tails, or you can make your own tail. A home aquarium can be a five gallon tank and some cherry shrimp. A garden pond can be a tub with water plants that attracts frogs and birds. Decorating can be done with treasures from a thrift shop.
In this book I show you how to do all of that. And then explore a few of the wonders of my backyard in the Chesapeake Bay watershed from pond to stream to east coast barrier islands.
My mer-book is available now: $10 by PayPal to swordwhale@yahoo.com (you don't need an account to use PayPal). Include your address! We will dropship it direct to you.
Merfolk are any size, any shape, any color, any gender, any age.
Putting on a tail and swimming like a merrow is exercise for body, mind and spirit. If you can't swim, you can decorate your mer-grotto, do land based photoshoots, play with green screen, explore your local waters by wading with an underwater viewer (you can make one) or by kayak or by visiting an aquarium. Create your own oasis with a garden pond or fish tank.
You don't have to have lots of money to do any of it. There are inexpensive monofins and tails, or you can make your own tail. A home aquarium can be a five gallon tank and some cherry shrimp. A garden pond can be a tub with water plants that attracts frogs and birds. Decorating can be done with treasures from a thrift shop.
In this book I show you how to do all of that. And then explore a few of the wonders of my backyard in the Chesapeake Bay watershed from pond to stream to east coast barrier islands.
My mer-book is available now: $10 by PayPal to swordwhale@yahoo.com (you don't need an account to use PayPal). Include your address! We will dropship it direct to you.
pay through PayPal, (with or without your own account)
to swordwhale@yahoo.com
inspired by fantasy & myth, nature, the sea, superheroes and science
dammit Jim, I'm a nature based artist, not an engineer
You can get a clear idea of what I do by looking at my samples on this page, and on other pages on this site. I do nature, animals, myth, fantasy. I can do a decent human (or Elf, fae, mer, Romulan, superhero or others) and a terrific horse (or help you learn how to draw one). I do NOT do houses, cars, bikes, cityscapes, spaceports, starships (much as I love them), or Spiderman swinging through the streets of NYC (much as I love Spidey, I hate cities and perspective!). If you have an idea for an art piece, ask! I promise I won't feed you to the house dragon...
My primary medium is watercolor with Prismacolor Pencil and acrylic touches. I also have done nature-based murals for local parks using house paint and acrylics. I have taught basic watercolor and wildlife sketching classes for those parks too, mainly Nixon Park in Jacobus PA. I can do art classes in southcentral PA. I can ship reasonably sized pieces of art nearly anywhere.
I do a fair amount of photography I call "play with your toys"; photographing collectibles, toys and models in natural settings. It's a fun project to teach kids; take a character on your next hike or vacation and photograph them! There is a section on this website to demonstrate the fun! I can also teach a class on it!
Also: Gramma Swordwhale (or Mermom) mermaid.
I do a fair amount of photography I call "play with your toys"; photographing collectibles, toys and models in natural settings. It's a fun project to teach kids; take a character on your next hike or vacation and photograph them! There is a section on this website to demonstrate the fun! I can also teach a class on it!
Also: Gramma Swordwhale (or Mermom) mermaid.
pay through PayPal, (with or without your own account)
to swordwhale@yahoo.com
PRINTS: on paper, canvas, cards, mugs, etc.
on Deviantart: www.deviantart.com/swordwhale/shop/prints
Prices vary according to size and style of print, but "Premium giclée prints on high-quality paper stock" is offered as well as canvas and photoprints, and several items like mugs and coasters.
on redbubble: https://www.redbubble.com/people/swordwhale/shop
For other ideas contact me! The rest of this site gives you a tour of what I can do.
wetland mural, Nixon County Park Jacobus PA, detail of great egret fishing
here there be...dragons...
art, stories, crafty stuff, photography, adventures, videos
and elves and mer-folk of all types
scroll down for pages to explore
links to social media
about the artist
check the menu at the top of the page for how-tos and adventures
(exploring Planet Water, kayaking, mushing, pirate ships, Viking ships, horses, and more)
my audience is general, but I keep it kid friendly
Artist, writer, photographer, horseman, mermaid. Nerd: science fiction, fantasy, superheroes, animation, science, fan of weird early lifeforms (paleontology) on this planet.
Have done my favorite work, environmental education art, for local parks. I have paddled in the wake of dolphins, trained actual wild mustangs, a 3 1/4 dog sled team, and live with a small pride of mini panthers. Volunteered with wildlife rehabbers: yes riding in a closed van with a barfing vulture is fun, otters can bite through 6ml dive gloves, and a four month old tiger is the largest one you want to wrestle.
Have decorated underwater Yule trees (styrofoam satin balls compress, the thread wafts off, and they hang UP), carved underwater pumpkins (bluegills spit out the pumpkin bits, but like to taste your thumb). I once spent Halloween, and one earthquake, on pirate ships (see the pirates and privateers section). I also spent one Halloween night working with a lovely young man who had a great Dracula accent.. because he was, in fact, from Transylvania.
Adventure, it's out there, you just need some imagination!
Have done my favorite work, environmental education art, for local parks. I have paddled in the wake of dolphins, trained actual wild mustangs, a 3 1/4 dog sled team, and live with a small pride of mini panthers. Volunteered with wildlife rehabbers: yes riding in a closed van with a barfing vulture is fun, otters can bite through 6ml dive gloves, and a four month old tiger is the largest one you want to wrestle.
Have decorated underwater Yule trees (styrofoam satin balls compress, the thread wafts off, and they hang UP), carved underwater pumpkins (bluegills spit out the pumpkin bits, but like to taste your thumb). I once spent Halloween, and one earthquake, on pirate ships (see the pirates and privateers section). I also spent one Halloween night working with a lovely young man who had a great Dracula accent.. because he was, in fact, from Transylvania.
Adventure, it's out there, you just need some imagination!
join the fleet on facebook
friend me at Teanna Byerts: https://www.facebook.com/swordwhale
(art, nature, cats, ponies, wild ponies, kayaking, mermaids, tutorials and livestreams)
art page and tutorials: https://www.facebook.com/swordwhalewalking/
Kayak Chesapeake Watershed on facebook:
livestreams from the kayak, photos, and whatever friends post too
https://www.facebook.com/groups/261596567988625
Gramma Swordwhale's Mermaiding Page
on facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/431637214326043
How to Train Your Cat on facebook
https://www.facebook.com/groups/288442392347360
swordwhale1 on youtube
art, kayaking, sled dogs, pirate ships and wild ponies
https://www.youtube.com/user/swordwhale1
Instagram @teannabyerts
nature, art, cats and other fun stuff
https://twitter.com/swordwhale1
Original fanfiction and random ramblings: https://www.inkitt.com/teanna
BUY SWORDWHALE'S STUFF
prints and things, support your local artist
Deviantart: https://www.deviantart.com/swordwhale/shop/prints
RedBubble: https://www.redbubble.com/people/swordwhale/shop
also Zazzle: www.zazzle.com/swordwhale
prints and things, support your local artist
Deviantart: https://www.deviantart.com/swordwhale/shop/prints
RedBubble: https://www.redbubble.com/people/swordwhale/shop
also Zazzle: www.zazzle.com/swordwhale
contact me to: commission art, teach a class, buy a print or craft
swordwhale@yahoo.com
pay through PayPal, (with or without your own account)
to swordwhale@yahoo.com
swordwhale@yahoo.com
pay through PayPal, (with or without your own account)
to swordwhale@yahoo.com
In places where there are seals, there are selkie legends: seal folk who take off their skins to walk on land in human form. On the Northwest Coast of North America, there are similar legends of whale folk who take off their fins... the fin becomes a boat. The shape of a paddler in a kayak is exactly the same as a surfacing orca. A male orca's tall fin is the same size and shape as a 6ft. surfboard. Swordwhale is (in parts of Europe, whence came my ancestors) one of the many names for orca.
pages to explore
click on the pictures below or use the menu at the top to navigate
art and stories
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how to art
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