Malian clothes, gryphon, and sunset

Me in Malian garb. I don't have much to say for this one, except that Mali has a really cool way of fashioning your clothes. You take a piece of cloth with a design you think is cool, then you take it to a tailor. They take your measurements, ask you how you want it made, and create it to your specifications.

The Malian clothes were durable, fashionable, and comfortable. They were like a karate gi you can wear for every day events. I wish we had a similar clothing system here.

Kind of an emblem-style gryphon. You know how most countries have a "crest"? This was done in that style. A gryphon is supposed to be part lion and part eagle, but how that looks has been depicted quite differently throughout history.

I find that many depictions of the gryphon are too eagle-heavy, with the head, wings and forequarters being eagle-based, and the hindquartes being lion. Conversely, I've seen depictions of gryphons which were just a lion with wings.

My perfect gryphon has the face, wings, talons, and tail of an eagle, with the mane, ears, and hindquarters of a lion.

Many eagle-heavy depictions of a gryphon still have lion ears and I enjoy that. Most depictions don't include the mane, but since I am a bearded man, and a male gryphon, with the mane being the most prominent symbol of a male lion, I don't see why it should be excluded.

I have watched the episode of The Magic School Bus regarding flight, and so I appreciate tail feathers and I can't justify a lion's tail replacing them.

This won't describe my own personal philosophy, but if I were to break down the colours:

Purple background: Royal origins (purple dyes were once the most difficult to produce and thus often reserved for people of well-respected families)
Gold lion fur: Financial success (gold has been associated with rare and precious minerals such as... well, gold)
Red claws: military prowess (colour of blood)
White feathers: Purity of ambition (unstained by doubts, represents faith)

If all that sounds like garbage.... Remember, I don't stand for anything. It's just a cool-looking crest.

A painting I did as an activity in a year of Summer Program that I thought turned out better than expected. It should be a sunset, and it doesn't make a ton of sense that the darkest colours surround the sun, and fade into lighter tones. I thought about trying to recreate the image, with lighter colours fading to dark, but I realised that the reason it looks good is because the bright sun contrasts the dark colours surrounding it, and the silhouette of the tree contrasts the lighter tones. So it doesn't make sense, but I doubt I could improve it.

The instructor was real impressed by it, and wanted to take my picture with it. I was proud, but couldn't help but wonder if she noticed I was wearing a staff shirt. I shouldn't necessarily need that boost...