Prickly Peccaries

I got some blue lead for my mechanical pencil. It's a change from my usual purple pencil, but it's fun -- a bit harder than I usually work with. This is a sketch of an idea that I've had doodled in my sketchbook for a year or so. Seeing some peccaries at the San Diego Zoo reminded me of it, so I tightened it up. They like eating prickly pear cacti.

Stupid bug, you go squish now!

Here's a painting of the elusive Jurassic griffin, trying to catch one of those giant dragonflies that were everywhere in dino-times. The front is an archaeopteryx, the back is a sabertoothed cat. Archaeopteryxes had little claws on their wings, so it looks a bit strange with 2 sets of "hands". The coloring is based on the hoatzin, which also has some tiny fingers, as a chick at least.

I forgot to give it kitty ears though.

Yikes stripes!

Here's an easy way to tell the three species of zebras apart: Plains zebras are green, Mountain zebras are purple, and Grevy's zebras are blue.


Stylized gouache zebras influenced by the art of Mary Blair. I've been playing in my black sketchbook again. I painted this laying on my bed, trying not to let my cat spill the water.