Sean BennickMay 3, 2022
Julia Bausenhardt

Hello Mastodon art people! I’m Julia, an illustrator and naturalist from Germany. I’ve quit all social media a few years ago because addictive algorithms, ads, infinite scrolling and tracking surveillance were killing my creativity.
Mastodon is likely the last social media experiment I’ll try. Here are some birds for you, because although I’ve left Twitter, I love drawing birds.

Edit: Since this post, I've made my home here. :-)

#introduction
#illustration #birds #watercolor #art #birb

May 3, 2022 at 1:19pmWeb
Show threadMastodon•ART 🎨 CuratorMay 3, 2022
@naturesketchbook Ahhhhhh! Such pretty birds! :D :D Welcome to .art! 
Show threadJulia BausenhardtMay 3, 2022
@Curator Thank you so much for the warm welcome and the boost! I'm just slowly figuring out how to use Mastodon, but this instance has very cute emojis! 
Show threadMastodon•ART 🎨 CuratorMay 3, 2022

@naturesketchbook We do :D :D And a lot of them are made by our own artists \o/  

There are a few posts pinned at the top of my profile that might help you find your way around, but yell if you need anything!

Show threadJulia BausenhardtMay 3, 2022

@Curator I will be sure to check all of these links (and emojis) out, very much appreciated! Right now I can't complain that this is a quiet place (thank you for introducing me to the community!)

And lol, there's a kittypotato!

Show threadJey Pawlik 🏳️‍⚧️May 3, 2022
@naturesketchbook wow these are wonderful!
Show threadJulia BausenhardtMay 3, 2022
@jeypawlik Thank you so much! 
Show threadJames BaillieMay 3, 2022
@naturesketchbook I love these! The crow is very characterful :)
Show threadJulia BausenhardtMay 3, 2022
@JubalBarca Thank you so much! It's really a raven, but without the croak one can really not tell them apart. 😀
Show threadJames BaillieMay 3, 2022
@naturesketchbook Oh right - I do see that now you point it out, I'm not as familiar with ravens as we don't get many here and you don't get the size difference on an illustration ofc - but I do see the heavier beak shape etc :)
Show threadJulia BausenhardtMay 3, 2022
@JubalBarca They are hard to tell apart, as you say, it's mainly the size and the beak shape. We have a few in out local forests here I mostly go by the sounds they make. :)
Show threadPreistMay 3, 2022
@naturesketchbook 1. sparrow
2. crow
3. ???
4. woodpecker? robin?
Show threadJulia BausenhardtMay 3, 2022
@preist Yes, almost all are right. 2. is a raven, 3. is a European wren, 4. indeed a woodpecker (great spotted). :)
Show threadJaxMay 3, 2022
@naturesketchbook these are very lovely birds. Do you work from references, or take your own photos?
Show threadJulia BausenhardtMay 3, 2022
@Liveotherwise Both actually. I try to draw from live as much as I can, but often references are very helpful for details.
Show threadJaxMay 3, 2022
@naturesketchbook birds move pretty fast, your work is fantastic.
Show threadJulia BausenhardtMay 3, 2022
@Liveotherwise Thank you!  I do use photo references for these illustrations, otherwise I wouldn't be able to get in the details. But I try to do a lot of sketching from life, too.
Show threadDanny (he/they)May 3, 2022
@naturesketchbook yeah figuring out how to balance a feed of interesting things with the rest of life is really tricky. Mastodon has been a quieter and slower paced feed for me, but with the influx of new folks (who I have excitedly followed, as well who have swelled the local timeline) I have to work on building some better habits (which will likely include unfollowing some and checking the local less frequently).
Show threadJulia BausenhardtMay 3, 2022
@danwchan I really hope that Mastodon will keep at least that feeling of being a cog in surveillance capitalism away. I agree that one still has to manage their scrolling habits, but this seems at least a halfway sane alternative. :)
Show threadDanny (he/they)May 3, 2022
@naturesketchbook For sure! There are wonderful community members here. I moved away from twitter and google (although got pulled back into gmail recently through the community lab 🤦) because I didn't like the nagging knowledge that my interactions were being tracked and optimized in a profit-driven (inconsiderate) way by companies with powerful computational tools. There is a piece of mind that I found here that I didn't have on Twitter; that I didn't know was possible on social media.
Show threadJulia BausenhardtMay 3, 2022
@danwchan I know, it's hard to completely evade those companies, they do have some very practical tools (I also still have some ties to Google).
I still remember how the internet felt back in the late 90s, I'd love to get that back. As you say - peace of mind. Maybe this place can mimic that a bit.
Show threadDanny (he/they)May 3, 2022
@naturesketchbook 
Show thread☕May 3, 2022
@naturesketchbook borbs!!!
Show threadJulia BausenhardtMay 3, 2022
@drinkdecaf Indeed! I draw many birbs and borbs. 🐦 🦅
Show threadLeocuspisMay 3, 2022
@naturesketchbook I love it, they are beautiful. I hope you'll find a good place in this place!
Show threadJulia BausenhardtMay 3, 2022
@licuspis Thank you so much! I hope so too, right now it feel like a very warm welcome. :)
Show threadquiquemonroyMay 3, 2022
@naturesketchbook 😍 beautiful watercolours!
Show threadJulia BausenhardtMay 3, 2022
@johndoe Thank you so much! :)
Show threadUlrike HeißMay 3, 2022
@naturesketchbook I think I remember your art from Twitter. In any case it's beautiful and I am glad you give this here a try.
Show threadSunsetFelid May 3, 2022
@naturesketchbook lovely to meet you, I love your birds 
Show threadwinterdienstMay 3, 2022
@naturesketchbook
Herzlich Willkommen!
Show threadJulia BausenhardtMay 3, 2022
@winterdienst Vielen Dank! :)
Show threadEl-Kra MalereiMay 3, 2022
@naturesketchbook herzlich willkommen im entspannten Teil des Netzes 😉
Show threadKay-Christian HeineMay 3, 2022
@[email protected] far as I can see great body of work, Julia! Your illustrations remind me of a classification/guide book for birders named "Pareys Vogelbuch" - love it since I was a boy! Would like to see more of your work.
Show threadJulia BausenhardtMay 3, 2022

@kaychristianheine Thank you so much Kay-Christian! I actually have that book, it's wonderful - I hope someday I will be able to paint that well.

I'll definitely post more of my work soon. :)

Show threadKay-Christian HeineMay 3, 2022
@naturesketchbook
"I hope someday I will be able to paint that well" - you do.
Show threadJulia BausenhardtMay 3, 2022
@kaychristianheine That's very kind of you, thanks!
Show threadChristian TietzeMay 3, 2022
@naturesketchbook Wow! These birds are very nice! 
Show threadJulia BausenhardtMay 3, 2022
@ctietze Thank you so much! :)
Show threadEliseMay 3, 2022
@naturesketchbook What great birds!!!
Show threadJulia BausenhardtMay 3, 2022
@elisecutts Thank you Elise! :)
Show threadZan ZastrowMay 3, 2022
@naturesketchbook Thank you for the beautiful birds! I especially like the woodpecker - I have a pair of (tiny) Downey Woodpeckers nesting in my yard right now, so that one has a special place in my heart.
Show threadLutin DiscretMay 3, 2022

@naturesketchbook

> I’ve quit all social media a few years ago because addictive algorithms, ads, infinite scrolling and tracking surveillance

This ☝️

We are building the alternative and it's just the beginning. Mastodon is great but we also made PeerTube, PixelFed, Mobilizon, Lemmy, Bookwyrm which are ready for you.

Other projects are coming, like @manyver_se.

It's just the beginning, we gonna take the power back using Free/Libre/OpenSource software and you can too.

Show threadlazybirdMay 3, 2022
@naturesketchbook So ein hübscher Zaunkönig! 😍
Show threadfedops 💙💛May 3, 2022
@naturesketchbook fantastic art! Welcome to the Fediverse.
Show threadjohnnyMay 3, 2022
@naturesketchbook That crow is exquisite! 👏🏼
Show threadJulia BausenhardtMay 3, 2022
@imnotafeline Thank you very much! It's really a raven, but both species look really similar and I know the size can't be judged from the illustration. :)
Show threadMichelMay 3, 2022
@naturesketchbook Amazing drawings! I hope you will find what you are looking for here on Mastodon. I am nosy what art you will present next!
Show threadJulia BausenhardtMay 3, 2022
@Mstodt Thank you very much, ganz herzlichen Dank! :) I will probably share more wildlife and botanical art!
Show threadAaronMay 3, 2022
@naturesketchbook wow, you could do a Wingspan Expansion :D
Show threadSean BennickMay 3, 2022
@naturesketchbook Those are beautiful, what medium are they? They look like watercolor but my eyes aren't as good as they used to be.
Show threadJulia BausenhardtMay 4, 2022
@seanbennick Thank you! Your eyes haven't fooled you, they're done in watercolor (and a little bit of colored pencil). :)
Show threadstonefromthesky 🇺🇦May 3, 2022
@naturesketchbook Awesome bird drawings!
Show threadJulia BausenhardtMay 4, 2022
@stonefromthesky Thank you very much!
Show threadcohanMay 3, 2022
@naturesketchbook lovely work!
Show threadJulia BausenhardtMay 4, 2022
@cohanf Thank you very much!
Show threadAndy Cowley May 3, 2022
@naturesketchbook these are gorgeous
Show thread(((Baslow)))May 3, 2022
@naturesketchbook
Welcome! You've made a very impressive debut here!
Show threadJulia BausenhardtMay 4, 2022
@baslow Thank you very much, I really appreciate it!
Show threadNilsMay 3, 2022
@naturesketchbook Wow, so beautiful, thanks for sharing!
Show threadJulia BausenhardtMay 4, 2022
@NilsPhilippsen You're welcome, and thank you!