Rhino armour
1983
This painting is a conjunction of an obsession (and unfamiliarity with) medieval armour and a desire to render surfaces and textures.
Started as the cornerstone of an ambitious series, I never got past laying the foundations. (The plan, of course, was to make up thes incredible fantasy armours, create the world in which they lived, and then illustrate the whole thing...) I borrowed the gauntlet against some ridiculous deposit from an antique dealer (Oh WHY didn't I ditch the deposit and KEEP it?) and the texture and folds of the trompe-l'oeil from a much-folded map of Europe.
The rather unusual thumb, which everyone seems to take for granted, is from a pair of crow's feet that were a gift from a friend. They reappear on just about every clawed creature I draw.
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