Ancient

Angel - Painting for sale

This is one of the few large paintings I have done, and I no longer have any room for it. The painting is 40"x30" Acrylic paint on canvas. (I created a textured surface before painting, and the Halo is real Gold Leaf), painted in May 2009. Take a look at the photos and if anyone is interested in the painting just let me know! (Will take offers)

Those things that devour from the inside.

Just finished a small drawing of an imaginary parasitic wasp, based on various insects but mainly on Chalcid wasps, which use other insects as hosts, often laying eggs inside defenceless caterpillars, some waiting around for the caterpillar to pupate, then laying eggs inside the cocoon, where the chalcid larvae feed on the internal organs. Others are parasites of different wasp species.

0.05 point pen on white card. Most Chalcid wasps are tiny, the largest being around 3 - 6mm long, so I guess this one is around 45X lifesize.

Family Portrait

I have recently been working on a commission for a presenter of a Discovery Channel show.
The photos show the 8 specimens I made, the largest is the biggest I have made yet, the jar is 15cm tall, it is slightly human, but has the abdomen of a wasp and wing buds on the back.

The Insects are returning!

Seems like Winter lasts for ever, but over the last few weeks some insects have started to make a re-appearance, mainly large Queen Bumble bees waking up from hibernation. I Have only collected a few things so far in 2011, here's a small solitary bee I found today basking in the sun in the back garden...

It is about 8mm long, probably quite a common species, but one which I haven't encountered before.
I also found a few insects earlier in the week, which have now been added to the ever growing reference collection.

And here is a brief look at part of my British insects collection:

Baby's first Coffin

I have just finished painting a small skull I have been making recently. It is mainly in the design of a human foetal / new born skull, but I made some changes to the overall look. Made from air drying clay to get the basic shape, and then once dry I used various small tools to scrape away areas, add the details and hollow out the areas behind the cheek bones and lower jaw. Painted with acrylics and ink. (around 70mm across).

I like the way this guy turned out so I think I might make a few others, maybe more deformed ones, or Siamese twin foetal skulls etc...

Elus

I have been working on this illustration for a while, but I still don't feel it is finished...
She is Elus, a character from a story I am writing (The Black Harok) but I have only written a short part of it so far, I just find it easier to really imagine the characters if I draw them out whilst going along....
29.5 X 16.5cm

anyway, I might try a coloured version of the same image, probably just adding colour to a scan of the drawing.