Ep #91 The Incredible Paleo Impressionist Art of Doug Henderson

Paleo Nerds with Doug Henderson

LINKS

Links in the Intro

Judith River Formation
A Late Cretaceous (Campanian) rock unit of Montana (with Canadian equivalents) preserving rich river and floodplain fossils—famous for hadrosaurs, ceratopsians, tyrannosaurids, turtles, crocs, and more.

Nodosaur
Armored ankylosaurian dinosaurs characterized by heavy body armor and shoulder spikes but lacking the tail club seen in ankylosaurids; fossils span the mid- to Late Cretaceous.

Ratfish “tenaculum” (forehead clasper)
Explainer on the ratfish (a chimaera) and its cephalic tenaculum—tooth-like structures on the head used to grasp the female during mating, a striking adaptation among cartilaginous fishes.

Links in the Episode

Doug Henderson’s Paleo art gallery
A stunning showcase of Doug Henderson’s paleoart, depicting ancient worlds and life forms in breathtaking scientific and artistic detail.

Doug Henderson’s Jurassic Park glass panels
A behind-the-scenes look at the etched glass panels Henderson designed for *Jurassic Park*, blending fine art and paleontology.

Thomas Moran
One of Henderson’s key inspirations, Moran was a 19th-century landscape painter whose grand depictions of the American West influenced the creation of national parks.

Frederic Church
A master of the Hudson River School, Church’s luminous landscapes helped shape American Romanticism—an influence evident in Henderson’s paleo scenes.

J.M.W. Turner
The English Romantic painter known for his dramatic use of light and atmosphere, qualities that resonate throughout Henderson’s prehistoric vistas.

Jack Horner
The famous Montana paleontologist whose discoveries on dinosaur growth and behavior have inspired both science and film.

The Two Medicine Formation
An informative article on Montana’s Two Medicine Formation, a Late Cretaceous treasure trove of dinosaur fossils central to Henderson’s artwork.

Museum of the Rockies
Located in Bozeman, Montana, this museum is world-renowned for its fossil collections and research into the dinosaurs that populate Henderson’s art.

What is lithography?
An artistic printing process that uses stone or metal plates—Henderson’s detailed illustrations sometimes evoke the layered precision of this medium.

The Petrified Forest and its geologists
A historical document about the scientists and artists, including Rob Long, who brought the Petrified Forest’s Triassic treasures to light.

The Dawn of the Dinosaurs
A richly illustrated book featuring Henderson’s art, exploring the Late Triassic world of the Petrified Forest.

Maia: A Dinosaur Grows Up
A children’s book illustrated by Doug Henderson that follows a young duck-billed dinosaur through her life in the Cretaceous.

What is gouache?
An opaque watercolor medium that Henderson frequently uses to achieve rich textures and depth in his paleo paintings.

Asphaltum and the history of pigment
A deep dive into the dark brown pigment asphaltum—used historically in art and known for its role in classic landscape painting.

Araucarioxylon arizonicum
A species of extinct conifer from the Petrified Forest, this colorful fossil wood is often called “rainbow wood” for its striking hues.

Asteroid Impact by Doug Henderson
Henderson’s illustrated book dramatizing the end-Cretaceous extinction event with scientifically grounded art and storytelling.

Dale Russell: What if the asteroid didn’t hit?
An exploration of paleontologist Dale Russell’s famous thought experiment imagining intelligent “dinosauroids” evolving if the impact never happened.

The Alvarez Hypothesis
Father-and-son scientists Luis and Walter Alvarez proposed the groundbreaking idea that an asteroid impact caused the mass extinction 66 million years ago.

Snowbird impact papers
A seminal set of scientific papers analyzing global evidence of catastrophic impacts and their effects on Earth’s biosphere.

Stan Winston
The legendary special effects artist behind *Jurassic Park*’s lifelike dinosaurs, blending art and animatronics to create movie magic.

Stan Winston School of SFX
An online school continuing Winston’s legacy, teaching the art of practical effects, sculpture, and creature design.

Yellowstone’s Petrified Trees
A fascinating look at Yellowstone’s fossilized forests, preserved in volcanic layers and offering a glimpse into Eocene ecosystems.

How to make a pinhole camera
A NASA guide to crafting your own pinhole camera—a simple yet powerful way to explore light, imagery, and observation.

MUSIC
Dark Side by Whiskey Class
Melloooo by Ray Troll
Teach Me to Dance by Patrick Troll
Taxi by The Amish Robots