Oviraptor

This was done as an illustration for a short story called "Buster" by Patricia Correll.
It was painted for Darwin's Evolutions (publisher): darwinsevolutions.com/

The story is about a man who finds a juvenile oviraptor in his car trunk and how he deals with a situation that is increasingly out of control.

In this scene, Buster, an oviraptor, sniffs at a dandelion that has grown in the cracks of a driveway.

Painted using Corel Painter... mostly oil pastel and acrylic brushes.

Notes for Fellow Science Nerds:
I attempted to honor the author's description of Buster while also taking scientific findings on oviraptors into account, which ended up being a tricky balance. A specific species is not named in the story. I do not claim that this is a true to life reconstruction. In particular, the wing feather attachment shown here is incorrect.