twisted

Who knows the burden of naturally curly hair? How it never sits how you want, how humid days make it twist and curl more? How windy can make it hard to manage? Ah well, at least I'm not a ranga, ginger or carrot top...
I finished this small painting yesterday, and the hair isn't really half as curly as I originally planned it to be. But quite often artworks twist beneath your brush and can go in slightly unexpected directions. And they still somehow turn out okay, sometimes even better than expected.
Life is full of twists, no one knows what is just around the corner,so you must face the future with determination, like this young lady, and step out in faith and hope.

The Dangers of Love at First Sight, a poem for Valentine's Day

Prehistoric Hygiene

When I saw that the Illustration Friday topic for this week was 'Prehistoric', it  (and a rainy summer weekend) gave me the push I needed to put this little guy together. This is a prototype for an idea I have had for a while (since having to draw 'floss' in a game of Draw Something), and when I work out a simple enough mechanism, Rex here will become an articulated automaton; when you turn the handle, he will vigorously floss his teeth.

 He was cut from offcuts of mounting board and painted with acrylics. the actual teeth were cut from the lid of a margarine container, and the dental floss was simulated by using a piece of dental floss!

Its a little known fact that the dinosaurs were wiped out entirely by a virulent gum disease, something which could've been easily prevented by daily flossing. After all, as a class they have such lovely teeth, and it would be a shame not to look after them! 

And anyway, a T-rex's short little arms aren't much use for anything else!