Basilisk, Carrying On.

Getting back to work on the basilisk. The white is just gesso. In today’s art assistant tales: Vala takes a break from trying to burrow down the back of my jeans, to get a drink of paint water, then she dunks her whole effing head in the water, then shakes all over. Sorry, I didn’t get pics ’cause the card wasn’t in the camera. Clickety for full size.

© C. Ford, all rights reserved.

A Bare Beginning.

I have had an absolutely splendid day, it’s always amazing when the overwhelming weight of pain is lifted for a bit. That said, the sore and tender is seriously setting in from all the injections, so time to rest. These aren’t going to be near as quick as the horses. And, no, the colour is not as toneless as it looks, flash photography.

© C. Ford, all rights reserved.

‘Twill Be Birds.

Yesterday was Pain Clinic, and I took a moment to moan to my pain management person, who is always a delight to see, about feeling ambivalent over the flip side of the cutting board. I could do more horses, that’s what Rick likes best, but I haven’t been able to settle. So, yesterday, in my moaning, I said “what do you think about birds?” She liked the idea of birds, and so did I. Then it occurred that gives me the chance to go Medieval. I have a great and abiding love for Medieval Bestiaries, and there are some great ones, oh, they are all fabulous. This allows me to take liberties with colour, too. I’ve chosen about 18, whether or not they’ll all make it, I don’t know, but for sure, at least one version of a Simurgh will go up. Now I’m properly excited again.

Urban Dinosaurs.

From Ice Swimmer: Any way, in a tram stop in Downtown Helsinki, these urban dinosaurs are disputing whose piece of bread that is. The adult European herring gull (white with gray wings) took it in the end and flew away. The hooded crow, jackdaw, pigeon and the juvenile gull were left empty-beaked. The pigeon and the jackdaw were quite careful to not get too much attention from the big ones. Multiple buses, cabs and a tram interrupted their dispute, but no-one got run over and they resumed multiple times after each vehicle was gone.
I have no idea who dropped the bread or how this thing started. Click for full size!

© Ice Swimmer, all rights reserved.

Birth of a Dinosaur.

These are wonderful! From Kestrel, click for full size.

So, first pic: the eggs, which has been pipped, and some sections of the shell have broken away. The inmate has made a little tear in the membrane. The other items you can see in there are hatched chicks, and in the left lower part of the incubator, that square thing is the hygrometer.

Now the beak emerges from the tear.

One of the siblings has come by and is about to trip and fall over the new hatchling, and then fall asleep, delaying things a bit.

Almost out, after the sibling has staggered off somewhere else!

Finally the creature emerges, ready to eat Tokyo. Or some chick crumbles, anyway.

© Kestrel, all rights reserved.