Paleo Leather | Primeval Art & Natural Toys

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primeval art evolved

deep ocean series coming soon

THE LEATHER FOSSIL COLLECTION

Combining the love of art & science with a clean, minimalist style.

Naturally primal design that only high quality, vegetable-tanned leathers can offer.

Shop

Designed &

made in

the U.S.A.

skelosaurz, leather, fossils, paleoart, paleoleather, leather, leather dino, leather dinosaur, dinosaur, leather pattern, pattern, trex, leather t-rex, leather t-rex pattern, dinosaur pattern, dinosaur, leather, pattern, tyrannosaurus, rex, tyrannosaurus pattern, diy, diy kit, brontosaurus, triceratops, stegosaurus, waterforming, wetforming, leather, sculpture, 2d pattern, 3d pattern, leatherpattern, leather dinosaur pattern, original leather dinosaur, skeleton, fossils, leatherwork, leathercraft, leatherart, sculpture, leather model, h2o, leather skeleton pattern, skeleton, pattern, prehistoric, toy, craft, stem, usa, original, design, janelle, becker

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She brushed water onto the model’s head and began molding it [...] In only a few moments, a triceratops skull became recognizable.

Dahlia Ghabour, Columnist

It makes the passive art of looking at dinosaur bones into a whole new experience. [...] It's sort of a mini puzzle.

Janelle V.B., LCJ Article

SO excited, finished my T-rex... now onto my other 2!!! love them! great job, these are HIGH quality!

Emily, Kickstarter Backer

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skelosaurz, leather, fossils, paleoart, paleoleather, leather, leather dino, leather dinosaur, dinosaur, leather pattern, pattern, trex, leather t-rex, leather t-rex pattern, dinosaur pattern, dinosaur, leather, pattern, tyrannosaurus, rex, tyrannosaurus pattern, diy, diy kit, brontosaurus, triceratops, stegosaurus, waterforming, wetforming, leather, sculpture, 2d pattern, 3d pattern, leatherpattern, leather dinosaur pattern, original leather dinosaur, skeleton, fossils, leatherwork, leathercraft, leatherart, sculpture, leather model, h2o, leather skeleton pattern, skeleton, pattern, prehistoric, toy, craft, stem, usa, original, design, janelle, becker

Hurricane season has taken a toll on our studio...

But we'll be back with more dinos <3

& new paleo-art designs (:

2024 has been so heavy 🖤 So this New Year's eve, I'm gonna do like my little turtle & spend it hovering / eating. 🍾🥂🐢 Cheers to the New Year, u guys!! 😚

2024 has been so heavy 🖤 So this New Year's eve, I'm gonna do like my little turtle & spend it hovering / eating. 🍾🥂🐢 Cheers to the New Year, u guys!! 😚

My beloved swivel knife by the late, legendary Chuck Smith 🧡

Bronze titanium-coated w/ a black cobalt extra-thin blade.

The outside is like a shiny new penny and the yoke spins like a dream 🔥
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#beautifultools #swivelknife #leathertools #leathercraft #leathercarving #artsupplies

My beloved swivel knife by the late, legendary Chuck Smith 🧡

Bronze titanium-coated w/ a black cobalt extra-thin blade.

The outside is like a shiny new penny and the yoke spins like a dream 🔥
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#beautifultools #swivelknife #leathertools #leathercraft #leathercarving #artsupplies

I'm feeling especially relieved lately as I finally got a long-known OCD diagnosis acknowledged and am hoping now to be able to manage it now more for the better than for the worse.

To celebrate that, here's Pair of Pterosaurs <3 I loved & tormented myself making these, as with most art.

I'm feeling especially relieved lately as I finally got a long-known OCD diagnosis acknowledged and am hoping now to be able to manage it now more for the better than for the worse.

To celebrate that, here's Pair of Pterosaurs <3 I loved & tormented myself making these, as with most art.

The vintage X-acto space-age aluminum swivel knife 🛸

Another awesome leather carving tool. This is a unique, mid-century swivelknife produced by X-acto with a lightweight feel since it's made of aluminum and is designed with a lovely curve that reminds me of an oldschool movie rocketship or ufo.
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#swivelknife #leathertools #beautifultools #artsupplies #leathercraft #arttools

The vintage X-acto space-age aluminum swivel knife 🛸

Another awesome leather carving tool. This is a unique, mid-century swivelknife produced by X-acto with a lightweight feel since it's made of aluminum and is designed with a lovely curve that reminds me of an oldschool movie rocketship or ufo.
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#swivelknife #leathertools #beautifultools #artsupplies #leathercraft #arttools

T. rex vs. Tri 🌴🦖
Skelosaurz Leather Fossils - since 2012 🦕

The artist kits to hand sculpt your own dino toys from natural veg-tanned leather & water 💧
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#leatherkit #skelosaurz #paleoleather #dinotoys #dinosaurs # leathercraft #diykit #paleoart #trex #triceratops

T. rex vs. Tri 🌴🦖
Skelosaurz Leather Fossils - since 2012 🦕

The artist kits to hand sculpt your own dino toys from natural veg-tanned leather & water 💧
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#leatherkit #skelosaurz #paleoleather #dinotoys #dinosaurs # leathercraft #diykit #paleoart #trex #triceratops

Some of my favorite tools are swivel knives, the illustrator's pen for leatherwork.

They're just fantastic; a real art fidget tool. The tops spin, the weight in your hand is wonderful, and the blades can carve great detail.

This is one of my favorites... a beautiful blue oxide, brass swivel knife with a flared base set over blue stingray.
I call her sharky-blue 🦈💙
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#swivelknife #leatherwork #leathercarving #artsupplies

Some of my favorite tools are swivel knives, the illustrator's pen for leatherwork.

They're just fantastic; a real art fidget tool. The tops spin, the weight in your hand is wonderful, and the blades can carve great detail.

This is one of my favorites... a beautiful blue oxide, brass swivel knife with a flared base set over blue stingray.
I call her sharky-blue 🦈💙
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#swivelknife #leatherwork #leathercarving #artsupplies

Make strange things from a stranger's tools 🧡
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#leathersculpture #antiquetools #swivelknife #archelon #paleoart #leathercraft

Make strange things from a stranger's tools 🧡
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#leathersculpture #antiquetools #swivelknife #archelon #paleoart #leathercraft

Some scraps you start but never fin 😶

Some scraps you start but never fin 😶

Resurgence of the viper ~ in moose rawhide
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As what remains of my small studio has been packed away from three hurricanes and a flood, I'm at a loss of what to create with the little around me. This limbo has spanned months now. Our home is quite literally gutted. The stains from the brown water never quite seem to scrub out. Trees barren & broken with their poor limbs piled high in the streets. Another storm spins off shore and a suffocating fog sets in. Chaos battles calm at the helm. But I might be grateful and know I'm not alone 🖤 Do not despair but if you must, work on in despair.

Resurgence of the viper ~ in moose rawhide
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As what remains of my small studio has been packed away from three hurricanes and a flood, I'm at a loss of what to create with the little around me. This limbo has spanned months now. Our home is quite literally gutted. The stains from the brown water never quite seem to scrub out. Trees barren & broken with their poor limbs piled high in the streets. Another storm spins off shore and a suffocating fog sets in. Chaos battles calm at the helm. But I might be grateful and know I'm not alone 🖤 Do not despair but if you must, work on in despair.

😔 Hey guys, I'm sorry this is not an art post like I wish it was but we just went through a devastating River Flash Flood after Hurricane Debbie where the river rose to record levels of several feet. We made it out luckier than many of our neighbors who lost everything.

I saved most of my art stuff but we lost a lot, too. Matthew and I stayed up all night with fish pumps and sponges to fight the water & dumped over 200 buckets by 4:30 am. There's lots of damage to repair now but I hope to be back to making art soon. I hope you'll please stay around til then 🤍
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#hurricanedebbie #flashflood #paleoleather

😔 Hey guys, I'm sorry this is not an art post like I wish it was but we just went through a devastating River Flash Flood after Hurricane Debbie where the river rose to record levels of several feet. We made it out luckier than many of our neighbors who lost everything.

I saved most of my art stuff but we lost a lot, too. Matthew and I stayed up all night with fish pumps and sponges to fight the water & dumped over 200 buckets by 4:30 am. There's lots of damage to repair now but I hope to be back to making art soon. I hope you'll please stay around til then 🤍
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#hurricanedebbie #flashflood #paleoleather

Painting around 🐊🎨 Prehistoric mega croc, Deinosuchus, happy & having a nap.

Some days it's nice to just make something in the mini sketchbook.. and the small Schmincke retro palette is pretty cool, too..
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#deinosuchus #paleoart #worldwatercolormonth #sketchbook #crocodile #watercolorillustration

Painting around 🐊🎨 Prehistoric mega croc, Deinosuchus, happy & having a nap.

Some days it's nice to just make something in the mini sketchbook.. and the small Schmincke retro palette is pretty cool, too..
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#deinosuchus #paleoart #worldwatercolormonth #sketchbook #crocodile #watercolorillustration

Sketch w/ pyrography pen & ink washes.. just some trees outside my window 🌴🌳 🪟 It actually works pretty well drawing onto leather scraps... there's baby avocados out there! 🥑
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#avocadotree #palmfrondart #sketching #pyrography #leatherburning #inkwashpainting

Sketch w/ pyrography pen & ink washes.. just some trees outside my window 🌴🌳 🪟 It actually works pretty well drawing onto leather scraps... there's baby avocados out there! 🥑
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#avocadotree #palmfrondart #sketching #pyrography #leatherburning #inkwashpainting

What if you try sketching fish with all your art tools at once 😶
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#leatherart #fishsketch #pyrography #gansaitambiwatercolor

What if you try sketching fish with all your art tools at once 😶
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#leatherart #fishsketch #pyrography #gansaitambiwatercolor

Freshwater Angelfish wip. Hoping I can modify this guy into a form of Ceratoichthys. The extinct genus of prehistoric jackfish which would've looked a lot like modern day angels.. but from the early Eocene period 🐠
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#angelfish #ceratoichthys #jackfish #leathersculpture #leatherart #pyrography #fossilfish #paleoartist #wip

Freshwater Angelfish wip. Hoping I can modify this guy into a form of Ceratoichthys. The extinct genus of prehistoric jackfish which would've looked a lot like modern day angels.. but from the early Eocene period 🐠
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#angelfish #ceratoichthys #jackfish #leathersculpture #leatherart #pyrography #fossilfish #paleoartist #wip

Gonna post some light sketchbook stuff for awhile... Got a new, blue ink.. love that, lol 🐟 If you're feeling emotionally exhausted as an artist rn, you're not alone 💙
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#penandinkdrawing #inkwash #watercolors #sketchbook #noaiart #betafish

Gonna post some light sketchbook stuff for awhile... Got a new, blue ink.. love that, lol 🐟 If you're feeling emotionally exhausted as an artist rn, you're not alone 💙
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#penandinkdrawing #inkwash #watercolors #sketchbook #noaiart #betafish

It's hot out so let's practice carving cool fish that remind me of a scary fish I know outside🐟

This is Eusthenopteron -an extinct Devonian, lobe-finned fish who was among those that would lead to the tetrapods; terrestrial vertebrates which would later walk on land.

This was a 5-6 ft long carnivore who possessed both gills & lungs so don't fall asleep on the beach 370 mya..

Although they probably didn't do too well moving on land... This fish reminds me of the bowfin mudfish and snakeheads who do & will routinely snipe attack ducks from under the surface or super shallow waters and creeps me the heck out!

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There's a huge ancient looking bowfin who lives in the river by my house with algae grown on parts of his face and one blind, white eye.. he rules a whole section of backwaters. You can't catch him; as a prehistoric bony plated fish, he bites through everything, except thick steel wire.. and he learns all your habits, so he's too smart for that. You must respect the old fish.

Sometimes if you wait.. he'll rise up motionless from the murk and just stare at you with this look that's millions of years old.. and as a mammal it's very unsettling. Even though our comparable sizes are much different in present day, I still feel that old ancestral dread. ..Like he definitely remembers when we were just a little monkey-ish weasle thing that could be swallowed in one gulp!

I ought to give him a name.. that always makes things less scary, ha (:
& I should try to carve him... For now I need to practice carving & coloring...
This is wip on 7-8 oz veg tanned leather.

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#Devonian #prehistoricfish #leathercarving #leatherart #eusthenopteron #bowfin #smakehead #lobefinnedfish #extinctfish #monsterfish #bonyplatedfish #sarcopterygians #scaryfish

It's hot out so let's practice carving cool fish that remind me of a scary fish I know outside🐟

This is Eusthenopteron -an extinct Devonian, lobe-finned fish who was among those that would lead to the tetrapods; terrestrial vertebrates which would later walk on land.

This was a 5-6 ft long carnivore who possessed both gills & lungs so don't fall asleep on the beach 370 mya..

Although they probably didn't do too well moving on land... This fish reminds me of the bowfin mudfish and snakeheads who do & will routinely snipe attack ducks from under the surface or super shallow waters and creeps me the heck out!

************************************

There's a huge ancient looking bowfin who lives in the river by my house with algae grown on parts of his face and one blind, white eye.. he rules a whole section of backwaters. You can't catch him; as a prehistoric bony plated fish, he bites through everything, except thick steel wire.. and he learns all your habits, so he's too smart for that. You must respect the old fish.

Sometimes if you wait.. he'll rise up motionless from the murk and just stare at you with this look that's millions of years old.. and as a mammal it's very unsettling. Even though our comparable sizes are much different in present day, I still feel that old ancestral dread. ..Like he definitely remembers when we were just a little monkey-ish weasle thing that could be swallowed in one gulp!

I ought to give him a name.. that always makes things less scary, ha (:
& I should try to carve him... For now I need to practice carving & coloring...
This is wip on 7-8 oz veg tanned leather.

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#Devonian #prehistoricfish #leathercarving #leatherart #eusthenopteron #bowfin #smakehead #lobefinnedfish #extinctfish #monsterfish #bonyplatedfish #sarcopterygians #scaryfish

An old memory 10 years ago.. setting up for an art show with two pterosaur marionettes 🖤
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#leatherculptor #paleoart #finearts #pterosaurs #marionettes #rockymountainleathertradeshow

An old memory 10 years ago.. setting up for an art show with two pterosaur marionettes 🖤
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#leatherculptor #paleoart #finearts #pterosaurs #marionettes #rockymountainleathertradeshow

Proto mini t. rex versus final form:
The second dino I ever made started out from a pair of blunt scissors and an old woodburning tool plus some knotted/melted ribbon for joints (:

I accidentally burnt myself so many times making these then... but was worth it <3
After you make one, the rest get easier.
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#leathersculpture #paleoart #trex #tyrannosaurus #leatherskull #fossilart #leathercraft #prehistoric #skelosaurz #leatherdino #processart #wip

Proto mini t. rex versus final form:
The second dino I ever made started out from a pair of blunt scissors and an old woodburning tool plus some knotted/melted ribbon for joints (:

I accidentally burnt myself so many times making these then... but was worth it <3
After you make one, the rest get easier.
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#leathersculpture #paleoart #trex #tyrannosaurus #leatherskull #fossilart #leathercraft #prehistoric #skelosaurz #leatherdino #processart #wip

Gee, I haven't done any pen & ink in a long while -

Sketching is such an important practice that's all too easy to neglect once you've gotten out of the habit. This used to be my fav medium to illustrate in ✒️

This is a sketch of an elasmosaur skull that was found on Vancouver Island.

Bones are so weird to draw when you're trying to be accurate... like every time. It's all odd angles all over the place 🦴

Maybe it won't necessarily look wrong, but you know it is? If you get real technical over the whole idea to the point of making yourself crazy...

It's like I get so excited about it, then frustrated with it, then fully angry & abandon it - next day, mental exhaustion allows me to care less and redirect it - then finish with something real different than what I anticipated to begin with... but am pretty okay with it, make peace and know I can do better next time 🖤 this is my process for most things ✨️ 😹

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#plesiosaurus #paleoartist #sketchbook #penandink #skullillustration #dinoart #justdrawsomething #fossilart #practiceyourart #honestcritique

Gee, I haven't done any pen & ink in a long while -

Sketching is such an important practice that's all too easy to neglect once you've gotten out of the habit. This used to be my fav medium to illustrate in ✒️

This is a sketch of an elasmosaur skull that was found on Vancouver Island.

Bones are so weird to draw when you're trying to be accurate... like every time. It's all odd angles all over the place 🦴

Maybe it won't necessarily look wrong, but you know it is? If you get real technical over the whole idea to the point of making yourself crazy...

It's like I get so excited about it, then frustrated with it, then fully angry & abandon it - next day, mental exhaustion allows me to care less and redirect it - then finish with something real different than what I anticipated to begin with... but am pretty okay with it, make peace and know I can do better next time 🖤 this is my process for most things ✨️ 😹

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#plesiosaurus #paleoartist #sketchbook #penandink #skullillustration #dinoart #justdrawsomething #fossilart #practiceyourart #honestcritique

Dunkleosteus; my fav, late, Devonian tank of a placoderm 🖤 How many casualties would one crush in a lifetime...
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#devonianperiod #dunkleosteus #ancientocean #seamonsters #oceanfossils #paleoartist #leathercraft #dioramacreators

Dunkleosteus; my fav, late, Devonian tank of a placoderm 🖤 How many casualties would one crush in a lifetime...
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#devonianperiod #dunkleosteus #ancientocean #seamonsters #oceanfossils #paleoartist #leathercraft #dioramacreators

Ichthyosaur is the happiest fish-lizard of all time 🖤 No need to fear, unless you're squid 🦑
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#leathersculpture #ichthyosaur #squidchase #paleoartist #seamonsters #thalassophobia #deepsea #prehistoricocean

Ichthyosaur is the happiest fish-lizard of all time 🖤 No need to fear, unless you're squid 🦑
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#leathersculpture #ichthyosaur #squidchase #paleoartist #seamonsters #thalassophobia #deepsea #prehistoricocean

t. rex scaled to T-REX 🦖🦖
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#leathersculpture #paleoart #tyrannosaurus #trexskeleton #skeletonmodel #leathermodel #skelosaurz

t. rex scaled to T-REX 🦖🦖
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#leathersculpture #paleoart #tyrannosaurus #trexskeleton #skeletonmodel #leathermodel #skelosaurz

Merry Christmas Eve / Rarraraar! 🎄 🦖 💚

Merry Christmas Eve / Rarraraar! 🎄 🦖 💚

It's some kinda winter storm in the subtropics today; this is pterosaurs in love <3 Cut & formed by hand / articulated skeletons. I like their beaks.. or bills? Well, def. the crests. Geez, it's lightning out too.. if it were snow it'd be a blizzard!
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#pterosaur #leathersculpture #articulatedskeleton #marionettes #prehistoric #paleoart

It's some kinda winter storm in the subtropics today; this is pterosaurs in love <3 Cut & formed by hand / articulated skeletons. I like their beaks.. or bills? Well, def. the crests. Geez, it's lightning out too.. if it were snow it'd be a blizzard!
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#pterosaur #leathersculpture #articulatedskeleton #marionettes #prehistoric #paleoart

Young Triceratops skull through the sculpting process (& a favorite photo of mine taken by an old friend) 🖤
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#ceratopsian #leathersculpture #wip #paleoart #triceratops #leatherartist #fossilskull #leathermask #prehistoricart

Young Triceratops skull through the sculpting process (& a favorite photo of mine taken by an old friend) 🖤
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#ceratopsian #leathersculpture #wip #paleoart #triceratops #leatherartist #fossilskull #leathermask #prehistoricart

Plesiosaur set photo shoot 🌊

I love this creature so much🖤! It's fun to often display these models over the leathers which they came from vs. a solid matte background b/c the textures can end up being really interesting; as much so as the wood grains on the base. It's always different from one to the next and naturally adds to the character of the scene.

Of course I also have to take a thousand photos from diff angles and lighting for an entire day before narrowing it all down & editing for another.. but I think so do all of us who make stuff we're proud of (:
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#wip #plesiosaur #nessie #paleoartist #paleoleather #leathersculptor #leathercraft #seamonster #paleoart #leathersculpture #oceanart #rivermonster #oceanfossils #prehistoricart #skeleton

Plesiosaur set photo shoot 🌊

I love this creature so much🖤! It's fun to often display these models over the leathers which they came from vs. a solid matte background b/c the textures can end up being really interesting; as much so as the wood grains on the base. It's always different from one to the next and naturally adds to the character of the scene.

Of course I also have to take a thousand photos from diff angles and lighting for an entire day before narrowing it all down & editing for another.. but I think so do all of us who make stuff we're proud of (:
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#wip #plesiosaur #nessie #paleoartist #paleoleather #leathersculptor #leathercraft #seamonster #paleoart #leathersculpture #oceanart #rivermonster #oceanfossils #prehistoricart #skeleton

Mosasaur pursues a pod of Ichthyosaurs ~ Veg. tanned leather over wooden base / 4.5' length
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#cretaceous #mosasaur # ichthyosaur #dinochase #leathersculpture #paleoart #mesozoic #predatorvsprey #oceanfossils

Mosasaur pursues a pod of Ichthyosaurs ~ Veg. tanned leather over wooden base / 4.5' length
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#cretaceous #mosasaur # ichthyosaur #dinochase #leathersculpture #paleoart #mesozoic #predatorvsprey #oceanfossils

Sometimes a first draft is huge, bulky, clunky and weird.. even dyeing this mosasaur turned out all splotchy and I made a huge mess doing it.

Still, bc of this guy, many small and refined mosas could be created later on 🙃

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#mosasaurus #deepseacreatures #leathercraft #paleoartist #leathersculpture #oceanfossils #seamonster #processart #leatherwip

Sometimes a first draft is huge, bulky, clunky and weird.. even dyeing this mosasaur turned out all splotchy and I made a huge mess doing it.

Still, bc of this guy, many small and refined mosas could be created later on 🙃

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#mosasaurus #deepseacreatures #leathercraft #paleoartist #leathersculpture #oceanfossils #seamonster #processart #leatherwip

Smaller water creatures can be extremely resilient when they need to be; cephalopods were def not always small, but this one is: Orange, hand-stitched ammonite in veg.tanned leather and suede 🌊
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#leathercraft #paleoartists #prehistoric #ammonite #ancientocean #shellfishart #mollusk #devonian #leathersculpture

Smaller water creatures can be extremely resilient when they need to be; cephalopods were def not always small, but this one is: Orange, hand-stitched ammonite in veg.tanned leather and suede 🌊
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#leathercraft #paleoartists #prehistoric #ammonite #ancientocean #shellfishart #mollusk #devonian #leathersculpture

*** Sorry hadn't posted :🌀 In Bradenton, Fl we went through the eyewall of Ian on weds. - The river rose overnight into the yard but we missed the worst of the surge / thankful all our immediate damage is mostly trees and fences - it was rougher for friends directly south of us and hope they'll be okay soon 🤍 That was a scary huge & long monster storm 😖

*** Sorry hadn't posted :🌀 In Bradenton, Fl we went through the eyewall of Ian on weds. - The river rose overnight into the yard but we missed the worst of the surge / thankful all our immediate damage is mostly trees and fences - it was rougher for friends directly south of us and hope they'll be okay soon 🤍 That was a scary huge & long monster storm 😖

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