MIRACLE IN THE SANDS
Miracle in the Sands , acrylic on canvas, 2022. 20" X 16". This scene is inspired by an episode of the documentary Prehistoric Planet , being set in an oasis which is formed when water rises to the surface of a desert, which in this painting is in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia during the late Cretaceous period around 75 million years ago. Water sources like these may have been a magnet for animals that travel through the desert. Therizinosaurus (top left, meaning "scythe lizard") is one of the largest maniraptorans and is from a special family called the therizinosaurs, one of the few families of theropods which transitioned to a more herbivorous diet. The first fossil of Therizinosaurus , a set of massive claws measuring above 50 centimeters in length, was discovered in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. Velociraptor is a dinosaur best known for having a large claw on each foot. It could sprint and leap great distances with its powerful hind legs. It is one of the dinosa