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We spent Thanksgiving weekend on the Oregon coast. The rental property was a very nice place, and right on the beach. But, being late November in the Pacific Northwest, half the time we were caught in the house by strong gusts, chilly temperatures and heavy rains.

Thus trapped, and forced to find our entertainments indoors, we explored the contents of the cupboards. In the cupboard where all the VHS tapes (yep, you heard right) and board games were stored was lurking an eight inch tall plastic T-Rex. While the others were examining the titles of taped movies I grabbed the T-Rex.

On the road trip to the coast I’d stopped in at Dick Blick’s in downtown Portland got myself some new toys, a couple of Pilot Parallel calligraphy pens. I was turned onto these pens by Jason Shawn Alexander. They’re way too much fun to be played with only by calligraphers, especially with the ability to go from fat to skinny lines and back again with the faintest twist of the wrist.

I made several sketches of Mister T-Rex from a variety of angles and light sources.  He was accommodating to all my artistic needs, and I was loath to return him to the cupboard instead of bringing him home with me.  But I knew another artist might one day be trapped in that beach house by stormy weather, and would also be in need of an interesting and patient model.