Fieldwork Fishday, or, Let Sleeping Camels Lie

A few days ago I had to make the three-hours-each-way drive to Denver to deliver some (already sold!) work to Abend Gallery. Ordinarily if I need to go to the Front Range I try to make a multi-day journey out of it, but there just wasn't time for that this week. Still, it's a lot of driving for a 20-minute errand, so before I headed back I stopped in at the zoo for a quick sketching session. (The zoo is 5 minutes from the gallery, so at least ONE thing about the day was convenient!)

Seahorses, arowana, and that wacky toadfish.

I had my heart set on drawing birds and discovered once I was in the gate that the avian facilities are closed for remodeling. (sigh) Good for the birds, disappointing to the would-be bird sketcher.

My second choice was the tropics building. Fish and reptiles and a few other goodies. Argh. Too many people! But I managed to spend a few minutes with the ultra-bizarre-looking oyster toadfish before feeding time started and my semi-cooperative model became completely UN-cooperative.

I wandered through the new-since-the-last-time-I-was-there elephant habitat, spent some time struggling with giraffe shapes, and finally found a quiet, shady corner where I could sit and watch camels sleep. Sort of. They're surprisingly fidgety but I would be, too, if I had a habit of resting with my neck twisted all around like that. Silly things.

Dromedary camels. You know about the whole B=bactrian, D= dromedary thing,
right? One D-shaped hump= dromedary. Two B-shaped humps= bactrian.

Drowsy camels made me feel sleepy, not a great condition for someone with another 3-hour drive ahead of her, so I gave up and fled the city before rush hour started. Not the most satisfying drawing experience ever, but you know what they say: A bad day of drawing is better than just about anything else. Or something like that.