The snow came and decided not to leave; on top of that, it invited its good friend bitter cold. So, as there is no digging around here this time of year, it will be one of three other fossil-related pursuits: research for the upcoming season, prep, and drawing. I have been tackling the last one first. Although I do love lichids, they take forever to draw when covered in their lumpy-bumpy pustules. One of the neat features of this one compared to H. furcifer is that it looks very much like it if it was given some nasty spiked headgear. The anterior process of the glabella has numerous pustular spines. For what purpose? We may never know. What's better than a single Austerops from Jorf? How about 14 of them? This would be my first attempt to draw an assemblage. They range across the entire 8.5 x 11 page, but I had to work on a much smaller scale. Fortunately, I didn't have to fuss overly much with the details in the eyes since that rarely can ever preserve in the cherty clasts of Jorf. I've been wanting (to draw) one of these forever. I still don't own one of my very own, so the next best thing is to draw my wish on the page. So out of the pencils -- HB, F, and 3H -- came this bumpy boy. It took a week to do it, and there was much tedious detailing and re-layering with cramping hand.
Maybe this is the note I should leave off on, drawings-wise, and get back into site researching and preparation. The snow and cold will eventually move on, and I have a season to plan! Perhaps future posts in the next while will feature some prep or if I happen to acquire a few trilobites from the postal formation. |
Kane Faucher
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February 2024
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