Santa Ysabel Open Space Preserve

The planned two hour hike at Santa Ysabel Open Space Preserve took more than 3 hours, instead. There was a loop on the trail that showed that the parking lot was deceptively close. If it weren't for a hidden ravine, the hike would have been shorter.

The live oak trees spread out and grow to a large size.

This Platanus occidentalis is very similar to Platanus racemosa. I wouldn't be able to tell the difference unless someone pointed it out to me. I just had to go with the sign posted nearby.

The park is located just northwest of where the massive 2003 Ceder Fire took place. There is a mix of untouched and burned areas. This old pine tree left an interesting black tower.

Last Night's Neighborhood Halloween

There's usually a good turn-out for Halloween in the neighborhood, but I still have a lot of candy left over. The kids enjoyed the artificial fog, ghost illusions, papier mache props and...uh....actors. The Chicken Lady showed up with her chickens and promised to drop off some blue eggs for an omlette.

Click on the slide show if you'd like to view larger images.

Halloween

...gettin' ready for Halloween with a little gelatin and face make-up.

Bat

This bat was made with spare parts leftover from the previous projects. The wings turned out weak, so I supported them with fishing line. I should have put more "muscle" mass in its "arms". The weight of the paint has rendered it too heavy for the pulley system that I was going to use outside. So, it's back to the drawing board for now.

Meg Mugglebones

This project was inspired by the movie "Legend" in which a character called Meg Mucklebones appears. She's not entirely up to par, so she's renamed to Meg Mugglebones which is a name morphed with the dog from "Heroes".

The arms and hands became bigger than the sticks I used in the previous project. And, the lower jaws broke the rules from Dan Reeder's suggestions. I will pay the price when it comes time to apply paint inside the mouth. There's only two things to do with rules: follow them or break them.

A blackwash and highlighting is next. And, the arms need to match. I don't want to run out of paint!

Skull

The skull head and hands are finally finished. I draped another black cloth over it to see how it would look.

Balrog's Cousin

The gates of Hell have opened wide to deliver this fine specimen. It was supposed to be another skull, but the creative sparks flew when a piece of cardboard from a dry cleaner's hanger entered the equation. It became the support for those menacing jaws.

Here's a close-up of the paint job using red as a base, orange for highlights, a black wash and yellow highlights. The hands are attached to wooden posts.

Throw a black, torn cloth over it to create a full-bodied work.

The original skull plan is almost done.