Private commission, 2018
The initial request for this piece had been for a scene in the famous Kansas Chalk Seas but I asked to do something a little different and went for the Oxford Clays of the Mid Jurassic. It’s speculation that this sort of baitball event happened then but I saw no reason why not. The scene’s denizens include the massive pliosaur, Liopleurodon (top left); a Thalattosuchid sea crocodile and plesiosaurs Cryptoclidus (bottom left); hybodontid sharks; and, top right, the small pliosaur Peloneustes and several ichthyosaurs. The latter are one of those rare occasions I lifted a colour scheme from a modern animal, in this case the Commerson’s dolphin, which I think are really beautiful. There’s also a pterosaur, Rhamphorynchus, duck-diving top right. This behaviour, too, is entirely speculative, but I thought it looked cool.
A1 Ocean Blue paper, colour pencils, pastels, gouache
Prints available.