Our heads are getting larger

According to a report in National Geographic, our heads are getting larger.


From 1825-1985, the span of the skull has increased by about a third of an inch. The size amounts to about a tennis ball worth of additional volume. This doesn't necessarily translate to greater intelligence.

Anthropologist Richard Jantz, shared the findings at a meeting of the American Association for Physical Anthropology. Scientists aren't certain why this might be happening, but have suggested some possible explanations: increased c-sections, vaccinations, or changes in diet or exercise.

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National Geographic report

Image from Outer Limits “Sixth Finger” 

Scientist approaches a lake of lava

(Video link) In this BBC video, a scientist takes a big risk to gather a sample from a lake of lava, while a colleague watches nervously from safer ground.
via BoingBoing

Henrietta and Her Babies

Meet Henrietta, the mother hen on the farm near us. A few days ago, her clutch of eggs hatched into six pale yellow chicks and one brown one. 

She lets them explore around the barn floor and the farmyard. When they’re tired, she fluffs out, settles down and makes a tent out of her feathers. One by one the chicks crawl underneath her and disappear from view.

I sketched her from life with just three of the chicks visible (one is poking his head out the front).


(Link to video) This little video shows how she does it. That’s Booster the Rooster making announcements.

Speaking Likeness

It has become the common practice in art schools and ateliers to have the model hold as still as possible for a portrait study.

While it's easier to paint someone who is holding still, the resulting likeness often lacks animation and personality. Portraits painted from expressionless models on the verge of sleep can't help looking inert and lifeless, no matter how much fancy brushwork is applied to them.


While there is a place for portraits that suggest inward reflection, a face comes to life when a person starts talking. The eyes change and the muscles around the mouth come into action. Italian sculptor Gianlorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) was famous for carving his subjects in animated expressions. When he carved a bust of cardinal Scipione Borghese, he showed his lips slightly parted and activated.

According to Simon Schama, who produced an excellent video about Bernini, “What Bernini was after was a speaking likeness, because he thought that people gave themselves away most characteristically either just before or after they spoke.”


Many of the great portrait painters and sculptors have recognized this problem and have insisted on engaging their subjects in conversation. John Singer Sargent's portrait of the writer Henry James suggests his fierce intellect partly through the lively expression of the mouth and eyes. I've mentioned on an earlier post how Sargent's friend Vernon Lee recalled that the artist insisted that she not be quiet for a single moment.

Wikipedia on Bernini

Learn the story of that crack in the Bernini sculpture
Previously on GJ: Talking models

Jordu Schell's Monster Sculptures

Jordu Schell wants to scare the daylights out of you.

In Allentown, Pennsylvania last weekend, Schell gave a lecture about designing monsters for Hollywood movies. I'm an admirer of his work, so I sat up front and sketched him as he spoke about the things that scared him as a kid.

He started out by showing examples of weird animals in nature, then gave an overview of creature design in movies, and spotlighted some of his inspiration from the field of illustration, ending with examples of his own work.

Schell has done concept work for “Avatar”, “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian”, “300”, “Hellboy”, “Aliens vs. Predator – Requiem” and many other films since he began in the field in 1987. He also makes props, masks, model kits, and effects — and he offers classes.

Jordu Schell website gallery
Video of a sculpture demo
Large gallery at Monster Brains

Allentown Museum thank-you sketch

John M. wrote me to say: "The [Allentown] Art Museum Facebook person said you did a staff portrait - would you please post it so we in the general public can see it too? If it's up at the museum I'll see it in a couple of weeks when I can study the show."

Here you go, John. It's not really a staff portrait; it's more a thank-you drawing. I sent the original sketch to the folks at the Allentown Art Museum who put together the new exhibit called "At the Edge: Art of the Fantastic." I wanted to acknowledge the members of the museum staff who worked hard to make this exhibit a success. In addition to the headline visionaries: Patrick and Jeannie Wilshire and J. Brooks Joyner, it takes a big team of professionals working behind the scenes— as well as the loyal docents and volunteers — to pull the whole thing off.  

Speaking merely as one of the participating artists, I should also acknowledge the sponsors and patrons, because without their support, the show would have been just a pipe dream. They include: Amaranth Foundation and The Leon C. and June W. Holt Endowment;The Audrey and Bernard Berman Endowment Fund; The Express-Times and LehighValleyLive.com; and WDIY 88.1FM, Lehigh Valley Community Public Radio, The Frank Foundation, Holiday Inn Center City Allentown, ICON, Laini's Little Pocket Guide, Lehigh Valley Woman, Sands Casino Resort, Greg Obaugh, Paul and LizAnn Lizotte, The Illustrated Gallery and Barry Klugerman.

John, I'm glad you're making a trip to see the show. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 

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Allentown Art Museum: "At the Edge: Art of the Fantastic"

Recap of show opening by Greg Manchess on the blog "Muddy Colors."

Fast-growing chickens

Look how big those white-crested Polish chickens are getting!

They're less than a month old, but now they've developed a pretty impressive crest of feathers.

After I did the portrait sketch, I picked up this little hen. She's getting strong, alert, and fast. Pretty soon she and her siblings will leave the incubator and live in the outside coop.

Previously: Polish Chicks