Strathven

@strathven.bsky.social

1723 Followers 452 Following

31| he/they | No AI/NFTs | creator of The Gray Old Trees: https://thegrayoldtrees.com/ | https://www.patreon.com/StrathvenArt

Digital illustration of my dragons Junebug and Finch cuddling in a flowery meadow.
A page of three digital paintings of Spyro. On the left, he is depicted from the hips up jealously guarding a large red gem. In the middle, a full-body illustration shows him in the moment he's just tripped over something and is beginning to fall forward. On the right, a painting of his head has him laughing with a wide-open grin.
Poets of the Fall - Jealous Gods
Three character illustrations of my anthro anole lizard, Alastair: a full-body, showing him decked out in his preferred goth-femme aesthetic; a half-body, in which he's engaged in the process of applying his eye makeup; and a headshot, in which he sports a devious grin.
Digital painting of a golden-hued dragon flying over some rolling hills. There's a small castle in the distance.
(An older strip, as evidenced by the character designs.) "How about you?" Daisy asks Junebug. "What got you started as an artist?" "Oh, I don't recall," he replies. "It's like I hatched with a brush in my hand." "Well, what makes you keep doing it, then?" Junebug turns toward the shore of the magnificent alpine lake they were passing. They stand on a bed of fallen leaves, looking out toward a ridge of craggy mountains dominating the opposite shoreline, rising up from a dense forest. A short distance away, a small tree has dropped some leaves onto the surface of the water. Junebug gestures toward all of it. "This!"
(An old comic, as evidenced by the character designs.) Junebug and Finch walk together in a meadow full of wildflowers. "This is incredible!" says Junebug. "Flowers as far as the eye can see!" He suddenly recoils when he notices a honeybee nearby. "Ugh, but do there have to be so many bees?" Finch, amused, replies, "I mean, yes, if you want the flowers." "Hmph," Junebug huffs. "I *guess.*" He doesn't look happy about it.
Digital illustration of Junebug in a forest about to sketch a ladybug.
A green dragon smoking from the nostrils and giving a wicked grin.
"Did I do something wrong?" Daisy begins to say, but is suddenly interrupted by a passing Clover kissing her on the cheek. "Don't worry about it, dear," says Clover, walking inexorably into the woods. "Yes, *ma'am!*" replies a now reassured and very happy Daisy.
Digitally-painted portrait of a whitish fluffdragon with purple scales and horns. The horns curve toward each other and cross near the tips.
Digital painting of a gently-smiling blue dragon against a warm background.
Digital illustration of Disney's Figment.
Digital illustration of Junebug being startled by a hornet.
Digital painting of Junebug in a forest, looming over a soon-to-be-sketched ladybug.
Hey y'all! The long, very long, a little too long story arc Deer-ly Beloved is finally at its end! I've finished the strips and uploaded them for patrons, and when they go public on the 30th, they'll be the last TGOT comic strips for what will probably be a long time. And with that concluded, some changes are coming! The biggest of these is that The Gray Old Trees will no longer be a regularly-updating comic strip. It's very time- and energy-intensive to make, and I want to have the freedom to work on other projects with other characters and settings. That said, this isn't the end of TGOT! It's still a series that is very dear to me, and I have more stories to tell with it. Those stories, though, may not take the form of traditionally-inked strips of the sort I've made up to now, and I won't be committing to any timeframe for production or release. If I have the idea and the inclination, I'll work on it; if not, I have other projects I'm excited about. Speaking of which, I can't wait to get those going now that I'll have the time to work on them! I've made some character studies and illustrations already, some of which I've posted here. There's a thrill to starting a new series that I haven't felt in a long time, and I'm really enjoying myself. I'm looking forward to exploring these new creative avenues and sharing them with y'all! Time to get drawing~ -Strath
A digital painting from March 2025. It wasn't the first digital illustration I posted this year, but it was the first one where I really attempted the sort of painterly style I wanted. While I don't think it's a bad piece by any means, I think it's pretty clear I wasn't very comfortable with digital media at this point.
WIP shot of my painting of Alastair that I finished a few weeks ago.
Digital painting of my anthro lizard Alastair out in the woods. He's wearing a pentagram necklace and an Amityville Horror t-shirt.
Digital illustration of Figment in his yellow and red sweater.
Digitally-painted portrait of an earthy-green dragon with a wild, toothy smile. White smoke drifts from his nostrils.
Digitally-painted portrait of my anthro green anole Alastair out amongst the trees, surrounded by vibrant autumn leaves. He's wearing a pentagram necklace and a black t-shirt with the Amityville Horror logo on it.
Scream! at Six Flags Fiesta Texas. We didn't ride it this time out, but this thing is a lot of fun.
Ink drawing of Junebug holding a roll of paper, a paintbrush, and a jar of ink. I'm really not a fan of this one, if I'm being honest.
Digital painting of an anthropomorphic green anole lizard. They're wearing a black top with fishnet sleeves, a dark purple ruffled skirt, and three spiked chokers: one on their neck, and two on their tail. They have on dark eyeshadow and their nails are painted black.
Small watercolor painting of a blue jay perched on a branch, spreading its wings.
Digital illustration of an anthro red squirrel in black pants and a black muscle shirt bearing a band logo and artwork depicting a pair of crossed swords that are largely obscured by his arm and fist.
Pencil sketch of a smug-looking dragon with smoke drifting from his nostrils.
"Well, you're very forgiving," says Clover to Junebug. "Just know that you can tell her if she does anything wrong. I promise she won't hate you for it." Abruptly, the doe turns away from Junebug, moving toward the direction she came from. "Are you leaving?" the little dragon asks. "Yeah. I meant it when I said I was sleepy earlier." She doesn't turn back to look at him as she replies. The dragon gets to his feet, still clutching the ruined paintbrush, and watches her walk away. As she departs, she speaks again: "I'm going to curl up with my doefriend and forget the world for the rest of the evening."
Digital painting of Junebug surrounded by fireflies on a meadow at night.
Digital painting of Junebug in a forest about to sketch a ladybug.
Very old drawing of an anthropomorphic goat drinking beer and holding a sword with a blade so black.
Colored, sketchy image of an anthropomorphic goat bedecked in ripped jeans and a denim vest covered with metal band patches, complete with a small rainbow flag button. He looks unfriendly. To either side of his head are other expressions: laughing, and a sort of neutral grump-face.
Digital painting of Junebug approaching a ladybug on a flower with pencil and sketchbook in hand. Sketches of a butterfly and millipede are visible on the sketchbook page. Behind him, a butterfly flutters across a lush forest landscape.
"I didn't know I was cuddly..." says the little dragon, almost just to himself. Leaning in, Clover clarifies: "What I mean to say is, she's not usually so thoughtless." "It's really okay," says Junebug. A very sour Clover rebuts him. "It isn't, though! She's been so rude to you all afternoon, and wasted your art supplies." The little dragon smiles. "Well, yeah, but she's been lovely otherwise! We talked about art, our inspirations...and you, a little." His eyes light up suddenly, and he turns to face her. "She told me you like to sing!" The words have barely left his mouth when at once, he clamps his hands over his snout. "Wait, I wasn't supposed to say that." A very annoyed Clover simply rolls her eyes and grumbles a noise of frustration.
Ringworld by Larry Niven
Daisy, happily enjoying some clover (the plant), turns her gaze toward Clover (the doe) and Junebug, as they carry on a conversation she can't quite make out. Suddenly, Clover shoots her a sharply disapproving glare, stopping her in her tracks. "Uh-oh," she says, as a sense of foreboding washes over her.
Closeup of Daisy eating some plants, from an as-yet-unreleased comic strip.
With Daisy successfully preoccupied, Clover approaches Junebug. The dragon is crouched sullenly at the edge of a small creek, handling a wet paintbrush. "What are you doing?" she asks over his shoulder. "Cleaning he brush Daisy was using," he replies. "I don't want the ink to dry in it." Clover's face drops sympathetically as he continues, "It looks like some did, though. I think this brush is ruined." She turns a hostile eye in Daisy's direction, which quickly sours as the dragon utters a resigned, "That's okay."
Watercolor painting of a blue jay spreading its wings.