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Showing posts from September, 2022

FIELD OF TITANS

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  Field of Titans , acrylic on canvas, 2022. 20" X 16" The painting is based on a postcard drawn by the artist in 2010. It depicts a landscape in the late Jurassic period, filled with dinosaurs and other prehistoric reptiles. The plants in the landscape are characterized by ancient plants such as conifers, horsetails and cycads, as grass and flowering plants had not evolved yet at the time.  The dinosaurs and prehistoric reptiles in the artwork are the long-necked Diplodocus , the carnivorous Allosaurus , the armored Stegosaurus , a pair of Dryosaurus , a small Coelurus and a pair of flying pterosaurs called Harpactognathus .  One of the Diplodocus feeds on the conifer trees while the one in the foreground, a juvenile, defends itself from an Allosaurus . The Stegosaurus watches over a clutch of eggs. The Coelurus had a dragonfly in its jaws.  Harpactognathus is a species of long-tailed pterosaur discovered in the Morrison Formation, known for having a wealth of famous late Ju

GREGARIOUS GLIRES

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Gregarious Glires , acrylic on canvas, 2022. 24" X 31.5" The glires are a family of mammals consisting of rodents and lagomorphs (rabbits, hares, and pikas). Rodents or gnawing mammals are by far the largest mammal group, comprising of around 1700 species, and almost one of every two mammal species in the world is a rodent. About 75 per cent of rodents are mice and rats. Lagomorphs, or "leaping forms", refer to the family's long, muscular back legs which are ideal for running at high speeds for danger. There are at least 50 species of flying squirrel, and most species were found in Asia. The southern flying squirrel ( Glaucomys volans , pictured) is one of three species of flying squirrel found in North America. It is found in deciduous and mixed forests in the eastern half of North America. Flying squirrels glide in the air on furry flaps of skin called patagia (singular: patagium) which are stretched between their front and hind legs. Southern flying squirrels