LEAPIN' LIZARD

2022 Leftovers & Palette Gremlins 8

Jun 21, 2025

A warrior in winged helm and flowing loin cloth stands on the back of a lizard poised to leap. The man grips the reins with one hand and holds up his sword with the other as if he's directing the beast. The giant lizard has a red head and green body. Its back legs are coiled to spring with forelimbs already raised. Birds startle into flight below. The background is rocky terrain the color of sand. A glowing crescent moon hangs in the sky in the gap between broken stone that radiates outward in columns framing the action. — LEAPIN' LIZARD (2022), Acrylic - 8" x 11 ¼"

I looked at a mark of paint on my palette and saw the scene depicted in my mind, ready “just” to be painted.

It doesn’t have any deep underlying thought behind it. This was just me having fun with color and movement, an expression of my enjoyment of fantasy, specifically in the realm of swords and sorcery.

Share The Art of Michael Whelan

Additional images from LEAPIN’ LIZARD

LEFT: Paint marks on palette paper that inspired LEAPIN' LIZARD. The largest splotch is brown which eventually became the body, back legs, and tail. The adjacent red suggested the colorful head of the lizard. The white extending down on a diagonal is roughly claw shaped and became the fore limbs. CENTER: Work-in-progress photo of LEAPIN' LIZARD. The lizard and rider are more roughly rendered. The right forelimb of the creature is not yet present. The background is roughly sketched but not yet complete in the composition of rocks that frame the action. The sky has a streak of blue that isn't present in the final painting. RIGHT: Detail from LEAPIN' LIZARD featuring a warrior in winged helm and flowing loin cloth standing on the back of a giant lizard poised to leap. — Original paint marks, work-in-progress, and detail from finished painting

Share your thoughts…

We’d love to hear your feedback. Please let us know your thoughts, questions, etc!

Like what you see? Subscribe!

We’re posting art every day on Substack. Don’t want to miss anything? Subscribe to get a weekly email including a recap of daily art posts.

To receive every art post by email, you can opt-in by visiting your account and then clicking the toggle for Daily Art.

LEAPIN' LIZARD

2022 Leftovers & Palette Gremlins 8

Additional images from LEAPIN’ LIZARD

Share your thoughts…

Like what you see? Subscribe!

Discussion about this post