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Saturday, April 14, 2012

Puzzled



I puzzled over this week's Illustration Friday prompt "puzzled".  Let's see, a Rubik's Cube?  Jigsaw puzzle?  Word Search!

*AUDIBLE SIGH*

I don't even know what it was that made me think of a giraffe, but I do like how the patterns in their hide fit together like pieces of a puzzle. 

Then I got curious about these patterns.  Did you know:

"Giraffe's patches are first and foremost for camouflage. But underneath each patch lies a very sophisticated system of blood vessels. Around each patch there is a quite a large blood vessel that then branches off into smaller vessels underneath the patch. 

A giraffe can send blood through these small branches into the middle of the patch in order to release heat through this system. Each patch acts as a thermal window to release body heat."

(source:  http://www.giraffeconservation.org/)

Pretty cool.   Literally.

And here I thought it would just be fun to paint one (which it was).
.

14 comments:

paintinggnome said...

Wow...I did not know that. Anyways I love giraffes too. Great job.

Scott said...

That is fascinating.

And that's a powerful giraffe--I love the angle, showing the muscles in the front. Magestic!

agg79 said...

Very nice. Giraffes are amazing creatures and you've definitely captured the real deal there. I imagine you got some of your inspiration from your recent trip to the zoo with the in-laws.

terri said...

I had no idea. Never even wondered about those patches before. I'm a little bit smarter today, thanks to you.

And your giraffe is beautiful. Very regal looking.

ShadowRun300 said...

Abby - I'm always so impressed! Not only with the art work, but with your thought process that goes into deciding what to draw. AND this time, you're even including a little lesson! Well done! :)

D.Shawnte said...

This is really lovely! Nice painting :3

Linda said...

Nice painting! I love giraffes! :)

Jenn and Casey said...

That's cool! I didn't know all that about those tall guys! Very cool. And I am still in awe of your talent!

e said...

I like the composition.

Linda Hensley said...

I had no idea. Thanks for the lesson! I used to have dalmatians. They're born with all white hair, but their skin is spotted. I wonder if there's anything similar with them?

minnemie said...

Well, never too old to learn. Had no idea - and I grew up among them! Very effective composition. Well done.

crazylady said...

Interesting facts! I never knew that. Nice proportions and colors.

Haddock said...

Thats one more info on the tall graceful animal.
I had written on Giraffe a few days back and learned a lot about this gentle creature.

Caroline Stanko said...

I love the way you composed this piece...and the colors you used...Annnd how you came to paint a giraffe in the first place! Nice!