Monster Attack!

Yee gawds. Suffice it to say, my foot, and the beetle shown above, were not taken in the same exposure! I recreated the shot later to demonstrate scale. And I did not plan to take a photo of the beetle about to take off, either! You should have heard the sounds I made when it elevated itself just as I depressed the camera button.

The saga started while I was sitting just outside my screen door on the side patio, watching a video. Loud rattling of wings in the bushes behind me, but I saw nothing when I turned around. Then I heard it over my head, but again, saw nothing when I looked up. I went inside to freshen my drink and just as I came back and opened the screen door, this rhino-type black monster beetled itself across my path on the cement steps.

Several stages ensued, me watching from inside through the screen door as he went back and forth, around and around, on the ground. I'd start to come out to take a photo and then he'd head my way and I'd slam the screen shut again. There are lots of unusable shots on my camera, but only one came out sterling... see above!

Here's what I'm calling the cave painting, close to completion.

Here are a number of canvases in progress, 12x24, that I expect to hang in triptychs, various combinations of rocks/lichen/desert plants and textures.