Lesser Bowertyrants - All Yesterdays Contest Entry

I know, it's been awhile and I still haven't posted something on my blog here about the art show in January. I did want to do a quick update and post my second entry for Irregular Books' "All Yesterdays" art contest (entry #1 being my "Swamp Dragon" icthyovenator painting).

X-posted from my DeviantArt page:

I title this piece "Lesser Bowertyrants" - it depicts a courting pair of Gorgosaurus, with the male displaying his mating colors and feathers, offering his potential mate a Lambeosaurus skull trophy. The bower is an "avenue" type bower, with carefully arranged driftwood logs and scavenged bones on either side of a narrow aisle festooned with stones, bits of wood, and chunks of vertebrae - anything that is white or light in color. Other bowertyrants, such as the "Greater Bowertyrant", or Tyrannosaurus rex, create their bowers from strategically gnawed trees, adorned with the decapitated heads of triceratops or other prey animals. All species are able to cannibalize the more edible parts of their bowers in times of drought or famine, deriving an extra shot of calcium from the bones therein. Indeed, it is the very reason the male offers the choicest bits to his would-be mate - the extra calcium in the offered bones allows for better egg production and a healthier brood.

"Game of Bones"

I had originally planned on adding additional sketches of other species of bowertyrant, including T. rex (greater bowertyrant), Albertosaurus, and the more distantly related Tarbosaurus, but time got away from me. As you can see from the sketch on the left, the greater bowertyrant's "love palace" is quite different, and more grim, than it's smaller cousin's, inspired in part by the Nature article on how T. rex may have butchered his Triceratops prey.

In other news, Scott Elyard and I will be putting on an art show in Homer, AK next month. More on that soon.