In a strange bluish purple landscape with many other colors, one can find the following plant-animal mutants: A jacana bird with plants protruding from its chest (instead of baby bird legs), a narwhal with a tree-tusk, a catfish with catnip whiskers, a rotund snail with vines around its shell, a Christmas-cactus centipede, a snake plant with real snake heads, a star nose mole whose nose is a flower, a real “banana” spider, a mushroom-jellyfish, two kissing sauropods who became flowering tree covered hills, a sea dragon with plants protruding from its body, a zebra-plant succulent squid, and a serval cat disguised as a small hill with tiny evergreens and plants growing atop it.

Forgive the multi challenge post! I got too far behind for #mutationmarch2025 but managed 13 of them in one pic (see alt txt for the list). I’m posting that pic now for #invertefest, #acoloradaypril (magenta), #scape, #sensoryart (together), #alphabetchallenge (quantity).
#artyear #eastcoastkin

✨ Here is a video tour speedrunning all the art I made for #MutationMarch2025! Or if you prefer to mosey through a slideshow, visit my website 🤓
www.galusaurus.com/mutationmarc...

Image for a daily art challenge. The banner reads "Teresa Galusaurus presents Abomination April (printed over “Mutation March 2025”): Botantical Beasts" with a tag line "Draw some animals... but make 'em weird--and plants!" The list of daily prompts reads: "1. cephalopod 2. hippopotamus 3. jacana 4. narwhal 5. centipede 6. catfish 7. sauropod 8. a rotund animal 9. serval 10. cobra 11. jellyfish 12. arachnid 13. basking shark 14. star-nosed mole 15. sage grouse 16. seadragon 17. kinkajou 18. rotifer 19. bearded vulture 20. Surinam toad 21. ladybug 22. moose 23. sea spider 24. blue-footed booby 25. handfish 26. stick bug 27. gelada 28. lamprey 29. chameleon 30. cockatoo 31. horse" Bottom of the image includes the handle for the artist "@galusaurus" as well as the hashtag to use to follow along/participate "#mutationmarch2025"

Did you miss #MutationMarch2025 or want more time to work on an #artchallenge? Try Abomination April! 🤡

This is only partially a joke. Art challenges are tough, and no one should feel bad about not sticking with the prescribed schedule. If the prompts inspire you, create whenever! 💚

"Mutation March 2025, day 32 - a chair." Watercolor marker illustration of a green chair inspired by plants, but it is a creature inspired by the artist. The legs of the chair are arms and feet with little roots. The cushion of the chair is a bed of moss, with glasses and little bunny teeth on the front. The back of the chair extends up with small branches, splitting into two long braids with leaves growing out of them. Atop the chair is a bird nest with a robin in it.

✨ Mutation March, day 32 - a chair ✨

What if a chair was a botanical beast, and also the artist? This little creature likes to wander around. If it stays still for too long, the legs will begin to root it in place.

#MutationMarch2025 #artchallenge #AprilFoolsDay

"Mutation March 2025, day 31 - horse." Watercolor and marker illustration of a horse rearing up, but it has been combined with hydnora africana, a parasitc plant. The body and legs are approximately horse-shaped, but covered in a rough texture. The head splits open into three sections at the neck, each ending with a horse's nose, the inside lined with horse teeth. The tail resembles a smaller bud of a hydnora. The ears and eyes of the horse look normal.

✨ Mutation March, day 31 - horse 🐎

As is tradition, we always end the month with the horse prompt. Here, I have combined one with a hydnora, a parasitic plant. What a majestic and cursed beast!

#MutationMarch2025 #artchallenge #mutationmarch

"Mutation March 2025, day 30 - cockatoo." Watercolor illustration of a cockatoo whose form has mutated into an impression of an aloe plant. The stalked flower of the plant is a cluster of parrot toes. The large leaves of the plant are the crest feathers of the bird. At the base of the plant is a single bird eye and a beak that opens up, revealing a mass of tongues reaching down like roots.

✨ Mutation March, day 30 - cockatoo ✨

I set out to create an uprooted aloe-inspired cockatoo, and while I don't think I totally stuck the landing, I am pleased with the result.

#MutationMarch2025 #artchallenge #bodyhorror

If there are other drawings from #MutationMarch2025 you would love to own as a mini print, please let me know! I started with these three as prints because I like them and they were well-received online, but there are a lot of good ones this year.

"Mutation March 2025, day 29 - chameleon." Marker and watercolor illustration of a cursed chameleon--its body is covered in clusters of holes, reminiscent of a lotus seed pod, and its head is covered in chameleon eyes. It is clinging to a pink lotus flower.

✨ Mutation March, day 29 - chameleon ✨

I love lotus pods. Forget classic flower bouquets, just get me bunch of those hole-y vessels. 🥰

#MutationMarch2025 #trypophobia #artchallenge #mutationmarch

"Mutation March 2025, day 28 - lamprey." Marker illustration of a sunflower. However, it is also a lamprey--the center of the flower head is the iconic mouth of a lamprey with its many teeth. Two eyes are seen just below the petals.

✨ Mutation March, day 28 - lamprey 🌻

I had been lost in the dark this week, but this sunflower lamprey helped me see the light again. 😇

#MutationMarch2025 #trypophobia #artchallenge #nightmarefuel #weirdart #mutationmarch

I had to sneak in at least one piece for #MutationMarch2025 and wish I had set aside time to do more. Have some Day 28 lampreys crossed with fireweed! I always think about the summer in Fairbanks where it 'rained' a few lampreys - it would be neat if they were actually wind-dispersed. #MutationMarch

"Mutation March 2025, day 27 - gelada." Watercolor and marker illustration of a portrait of a gelada with its upper lip curled up, but it is also a foxglove plant. The mouth comprises of one large flower, with a smaller mouth-flower on either side of it. It has a trio of eye-flowers, and a few more buds forming the top of the head. Instead of fur, it is covered in leaves.

✨ Mutation March, day 27 - gelada ✨

Gelada baboon crossed with foxglove flower because why not!

#MutationMarch2025 #artchallenge #weirdart #mutationmarch

A round cactus that on the left has an insect face and three little legs, the cactus is black with orange spots. It is sitting on light brown dirt in a pot that is red with black spots and has a little black ladybug head at the bottom. It is standing on skinny insect legs

Mutation March day 21! This is a ladybug larva cactus in a ladybug pot, my friend thinks I should make this one out of ceramic. #mutationmarch2025 #mutationmarch #ladybug

"Mutation March 2025, day 26 - stick bug." Watercolor and marker illustration of a stick insect, but it has undergone fasciation (a relatively rare condition in plants that causes them to become elongated perpendicular to the direction of growth). The insect's head fans out to have stretched-out eyes and multiple mouths and antenae. The end of its abdomen similarly fans out, and the wings have grown so excessively that they are folding in on themselvs, creating a ruffled edge.

✨Mutation March, day 26 - stick bug✨

It's a fasciated phasmid! Gosh, I really love fasciation. In hindsight, I kinda wish I had done a whole month of fasciated plant creatures.

#MutationMarch2025 #Phasmatodea #creatureart #artchallenge #bugart #mutationmarch

A plush moose sitting forward, it's face is made of two large light and dark green geranium leaves and its antlers are two halves of geranium leaves, her ears are pink bunches of geranium flowers and her torso is made of smaller leaves, her arms and feet are made of clusters of flowers and her legs are stems

A medium brown plush moose sitting on mint green bedsheets leaning against a cream colored wall

#Mutationmarch2025 day 22 moose! Moose are special to me because I collected them as a kid, I based the drawing on the first one I ever got, moosey and did geranium as the mutation because those are also special from my childhood as they were the first plant I ever had #moose #alcoholmarkers

"Mutation March 2025, day 25 - handfish." Marker illustration of a palm tree, but it is also a handfish. A normal trunk grows into the squat head and boy of a handfish, with multiple pectoral fins extending out into palm fronds. The fish's angler resembles the fruits of the tree.

✨ Mutation March, day 25 - handfish ✨

Of course the best pairing for a HANDfish was a PALM tree. I want to see this beast flail those modified fin fronds.

#MutationMarch2025 #artchallenge #creatureart

Bluebell footed booby #mutationmarch #mutationmarch2025 #bluefootedbooby #alcoholmarkers

"Mutation March 2025, day 14 - blue-footed booby." Watercolor illustration of a strange bird. It is a blue-footed booby with a typical body and iconic blue feet, but the neck extends up and around into the thin stem of a bleeding heart flower. From it hangs two small pink flower buds, then a third one in bloom, the pink petals extending out as wings and inside peeks out the head of the bird.

✨ Mutation March, day 24 - blue-footed booby ✨

Ah yes, the rare blue-footed bleeding heart booby. Such an exquisite creature.

#MutationMarch2025 #artchallenge #weirdart

"Mutation March 2025, day 23 - sea spider." Marker drawing of a whimsical sea spider, but it is made of wheat. The body and limbs are green, with each leg ending in a spike of wheat.

✨ Mutation March, day 23 - sea spider ✨

What a silly, spindly, wheaty fellow!

#MutationMarch2025 #artchallenge #pycnogonid

"Mutation March 2025, day 22 - moose." Watercolor illustration of a green moose head but with features from a giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum). The antlers extend into the many umbel-type flowers of the giant hogweed, and the moose head is growing from the large spiky leaf of the plant.

✨ Mutation March, day 22 - moose ✨

Moose and giant hogweed--two things I'd love to see in person, but from a very safe and respectful distance. 😨❤️

#MutationMarch2025 #botanicalart #creatureart #artchallenge #mutationmarch

"Mutation March 2025, day 21 - ladybug." Marker and watercolor illustration of an orchid, but most of the anatomy is styled after ladybugs (ladybirds, lady beetles). The flower features most of the iconic insect, with black-spotted red petals, the abdomen making up a central petal, and the head and antennae extending down. Flower buds are actually the small yellow eggs of the insect. The leaves of this orchid are beetle wings, with a few aerial-roots-turned-insect-legs dangling out of the planter. The planter is orange with black spots and a row of black and white spikes at the base, reminiscent of the pupal stage of the insect.

✨ Mutation March, day 21 - ladybug 🐞

Here is a lovely ladybug orchid. The planter is styled after a ladybug pupa! 😀

#MutationMarch2025 #artchallenge #plantart #insectart #bugart

"Mutation March 2025, day 20 - Surinam toad." Watercolor illustration of a Surinam toad (Pipa Pipa) combined with a rafflesia. Its head and four limbs form the five red petals with white speckles on it. The body of the frog has an open cavity with a cluster of many tiny eggs, creating a trypophobia-effect.

✨ Mutation March, day 20 - Surinam toad 🐸

I've been wanting to do something with a stinking corpse lily all month, and this delightful frog was a perfect fit for me. 💖

#WorldFrogDay #trypophobia #MutationMarch2025 #rafflesia #pipapipa #creaturedesign #plantart #artchallenge

#mutationmarch day 17 kinkajou.
This kinkajou guava is attracting a sweet bee to his face. #kinkajou #mutationmarch2025 #watercolor

"Mutation March 2025, day 19 - bearded vulture." Marker drawing of a bearded vulture that has been transformed into a potted plant, specifically a maranta ("prayer plant"). The body feathered and shaped like a planter. Four leaf heads emerge from the soil, with a fifth still furled up. Each leaf head has a central row of eyes from which red bristle stripes drape over the edges of the leaves, reminiscent of the bearded part of a bearded vulture.

✨ Mutation March, day 19 - bearded vulture ✨

This one made me giggle. Look at this doofus. I am now charged by the idea of potted plant animals.

#MutationMarch2025 #maranta #beardedvulture #weirdart #plantart #artchallenge #mutationmarch

"Mutation March 2025, day 18 - rotifer." Watercolor interpretation of a rotifer, a kind of microscopic animal, combined with a pink and yellow hibiscus flower.

✨ Mutation March, day 18 - rotifer ✨

Enjoy a lovely little rotifer combined with a hibiscus. 🥰

#MutationMarch2025

A goldenrod and mint green leafy sea dragon it's leafy appendagea are shaped like escargot begonia leaves and it's curled up like a escargot begonia with its head in the center of the spiral

#mutationmarch day 16 sea dragon! I like to think this pal is real flat like a leaf as well
#mutationmarch2025

"Mutation March 2025, day 17 - kinkajou." Watercolor marker illustration of a mutated kinkajou. A head is nestled into three leaf-shaped paws. Its mouth is open and from it emerges a very long forked sundew (drosera binata) tongue.

✨ Mutation March, day 17 - kinkajou ✨

Dang, this one stumped me good. I like the idea of this amorphous plant-creature with a forked sundew tongue, but the reality is lacking. Ah well, moving on!

#MutationMarch2025 #dailydrawing #artchallenge

A sage grouse looking forward standing on its left leg. It's head is normal but it's eyes are blueberries, it has a blueberry upper torso and Birdy lower torso, it's legs are light brown roots and it's chest sacs are white blueberry flowers, it's wings are elongated blueberry flower buds and its tail feathers are long thin green leaves

A blueberry sage grouse for day 15 of #mutationmarch . I thought about doing different seasoning shakers grouses but I promised myself no puns or word plays this year

#mutationmarch2025 #watercolor

"Mutation March 2025, day 16 - seadragon." Watercolor illustration of a green sedragon combined with a bird-of-paradise plant (Strelitzia reginae). The fins and growths are shaped like the leaves of the plant, and from the head of the seadragon emerges multiple smaller seadragon heads, matching the orange and purple petals of the flower.

✨ Mutation March, day 16 - seadragon ✨

We've reached the halfway point of the series! How's it going? I'm pleased with how things have been going, but also I could be a lot weirder!

#MutationMarch2025 #creatureart #birdofparadise #whimsicalart #mutationmarch

Mutation March day 14 star nosed mole! This welwitschia mole is happy because everyone loves them #mutationmarch #mutationmarch2025 #starnosemole

"Mutation March 2025, day 15 - sage grouse." Whimsical watercolor illustration of a surreal sage grouse combined with a jabuticaba tree. Green leafy feathers grow out from the bird, and yellowy orb fruits grow in clusters on the head, body, and extending down its single trunk foot.

✨ Mutation March, day 15 - sage grouse ✨

Jabuticaba trees look wild with their fruits that grow directly on the branches, so I thought that would pair well with the sacs of the sage grouse.

#MutationMarch2025 #artchallenge #creaturedesign