Recently, Everything Dinosaur posted up an article featuring the artist Richard Bizley.  There are many fans of Richard Bizley art, and it is always a pleasure to feature his illustrations.  Richard has had a lifelong obsession with art, astronomy and the natural sciences. As a Fellow of the International Association of Astronomical Artists his paintings have been used to depict astonishing views of our solar system and beyond. Working mostly in acrylics, Richard has also built up an extensive portfolio of fabulous illustrations that highlight our planet’s history.

He paints a variety of subjects including palaeontology, biology and astronomy.  The palaeontology artwork covers the Earth’s formation right up to the Quarternary and the evolution of hominins.

The artwork illustrates the variety and diversity of flora present in the Early Cretaceous prior to the domination of the angiosperms (flowering plants). Picture credit: Richard Bizley.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The Artwork of Richard Bizley

Richard enjoys illustrating a wide variety of prehistoric animals including dinosaurs.  Moreover, the artwork often highlights other aspects of the ecosystem with animals like dinosaurs featuring in the background.  For example, the artwork (above) highlights the flora of the Mesozoic whilst a Mantellisaurus and flying pterosaurs can be seen in the background.

This painting shows some of the plants that grew during Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous. In the background are some Monkey Puzzle trees, sequoias and other gymnosperms (pine trees). In the foreground are two species of seed plants – Bennetittales. These plants were cycad-like, but they formed into small shrubs. These had flowers and there is evidence that insects such as the butterfly-like lacewings (kalligrammatids) fertilised the plants, some even had eyespots! This is a good example of convergent evolution. The kalligrammatids appeared 165 million years ago and became extinct around 120 million years ago. Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) probably appeared 45 million years later. The two species (Bennetittales) shown here are Wielandiella angustifolia and Kimmerella densifolia.

To visit Richard Bizley’s website: Bizley Art.

Magical Marine Reptiles

Richard Bizley’s paintings of marine reptiles brilliantly capture an ethereal quality that transports viewers into a mesmerizing underwater world.  For example, the illustration (below) depicts a juvenile plesiosaur swimming with its mother in moonlit waters.

An adult plesiosaur accompanied by a juvenile swim close to the surface on a moon-lit night. Picture credit: Richard Bizley.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Mike from Everything Dinosaur commented:

“Richard Bizley masterfully recreates prehistoric landscapes and long extinct creatures. He uses his considerable scientific insight to illustrate life in the past. In addition, his boundless imagination has allowed him to create amazing images depicting our solar system and beyond.”

Our thanks to Richard for allowing us to share some of his wonderful artwork.