Here’s another imaginary composite creature commission! This one was for a study group- a trio of friends who are studying the hammerhead shark, hedgehog and galah (or rose-breasted) cockatoo, respectively.

The HammerheadHedgeGalah is handprinted on Japanese washi paper, 9" x 11" (22.9 cm x 27.9 cm) in silver, brown and pink.

#linocut #printmaking #compositeCreature #imaginary #hammerhead #galah #hedgehog #printmaker #reliefPrint #MastoArt

I have an ongoing series of imaginary animals I invent but sometimes I print other people’s visions of #imaginary animals too.

#linocut #printmaking #compositeCreature #snailCat #snailShell #cat #MastoArt

These cats are inspired by a friend's dream:
"Years ago I had a dream about Swedish snailcats, that live along the rocky coast of northern Sweden. Their fronts are marmalade cats, and their backs are snailshells.

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Some believe that the chrysanthemum snake is imaginary. Who am I to say?⁠
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While other snakes are known to use scale roughness to aid in camouflage, give a bristly appearance, to produce "eyelash" fringes or even tentacles on their snouts, the cryptic chrysanthemum snake (also known as the daisy snake) is the only known snake with a collection of petal-like scale spikes on its head, which mimics the shape of a flower.
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#imaginary #linocut #printmaking #compositeCreature #snake #MastoArt

Some believe that the hammerhead hedgehorse is imaginary. Who am I to say?⁠
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Though it appears to be an extraordinarily tall hedgehog, with hoof-like feet and uncanny peripheral vision, the hammerhead hedgehorse is not closely related to the hedgehog. Its nearest neighbour, genetically speaking, is the pygmy hippo. They may appear to have horse-like hooves, but…
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#linocut #printmaking #MastoArt #compositeCreature #hedgehog #horse #hammerhead #imaginary

My mandriltee for #MerMay! Some believe that the mandriltee is imaginary. Who am I to say?

Though it appears to be rotund, short-armed mermaid with strange facial markings, the mandriltee is neither fish nor primate & certainly not the composite creature of myth. Their name, however, is inspired by their unlikely ressemblance to the mandrill, & they are of the order Sirenia (which comes from the word …

#linocut #printmaking #mandrill #manatee #mermaid #imaginary #compositeCreature #MastoArt

Mélusine for #MerMay!

This hand-printed Art Deco-inspired lino block print illustrates Mélusine at her bath, spied through a keyhole. Mélusine was the legendary half-fairy ancestor of the House of Lusignan & royals including the Plantagenets, whose lower half became a serpent when she bathed. She married a nobleman but insisted he must never observe her in the bath; of course he did, & she left him.

#artDeco #linocut #printmaking #folklore #fairytale #MastoArt #mermaid #compositeCreature

This is a whimsical mini linocut of the blue Batbearoo, a widely unknown, & quite possibly, completely imaginary composite creature. Despite its looks & its name, the Batbearoo is neither bat nor bear, but a flying marsupial most closely related to the quolls.

The Batbearoo (Dasychiroptera ursus) shares a common ancestor with the marsupial quoll family of Australia, & …

#imaginary #linocut #printmaking #compositeCreature #bat #bear #marsupial #illustration #makeBelieve

The elusive cactibou, a desert cat who owes something to cacti and caribou antlers, is the subject of this whimsical mini linocut print. Some believe the cactibou is imaginary, but who am I to say?⁠
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Unexpectedly, this strange and elusive desert cat has traded some genes with local cacti species. …
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#imaginary #CompositeCreature #linocut #printmaking #desert #cactus #cat #caribou #antlers #myth #photosynthesis

A throwback to an idea I return to: imagining composite creatures. One of my first, the winged walrus is about contrasts and whimsy.

#linocut #printmaking #walrus #butterfly #washi #compositeCreature #illustration