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Rizal's Flying Lizard (1997)  Acrylic on illustration board 20" x 15" |
Here we have a representative of the Mindaneo race of the great Philippine hornbill (Buceros hydrocorax) in the "bartowel over a branch" posture often adopted by these birds at rest. My original concept for this piece was just a Rizal's flying lizard (Draco rizali) landing on a vertical trunk with a shadow. Once I had the subject drawn the way I wanted it, I added the hornbill as a darkly humorous afterthought. The outcome of this scenerio is unquestionable: the bird is not putting anything near the effort necessary into capturing its nimble quarry. In the background is a Philippine tree shrew (Urogale everetti) and a chestnut-capped thrush (Zootheeera interpres), and in the foreground a tortoise beetle (subfamily Cassidinae). |