Joe Tucciarone
Original Paintings

NEMESIS

The dangerous red dwarf star called 'Nemesis' swings through the solar system, dragging swarms of deadly comets in its wake.

Though it exists only in theory, this small star is at the heart of a hypothesis attempting to explain the periodic mass extinctions which punctuate the history of life on Earth.

Currently the largest painting in the gallery.

SAGITTARIUS THE ARCHER

In the mythology of the ancient Greeks, Sagittarius was a warlike centaur armed with a bow. Although the centaur is mythical, the major stars of the constellation Sagittarius have been depicted in their proper positions and brightnesses. The familiar "teapot" asterism can be found in the torso, left arm and bow of the figure.

PASTELOSAURUS

Joe sent us this "study" of a T. Rex, rendered in his trademark "popsicle" colors. This is a wonderfully detailed dinosaur. The final painting became our poster Extinction.

MASTERS OF THE EARTH

The ghostly image of a Tyrannosaurus rex looms over our home planet in this allegorical painting.

Sixty-five million years ago, our earth and its moon looked much the same as they do at present.

Yet at that time, life on land was very different from what it is now, for the Age of Reptiles prevailed and dinosaurs ruled the earth.

THE WHIRLPOOL

This blazing, swirling maelstrom marks the center of our Milky Way galaxy.

A large, dominating piece.

THE SLAYING OF THE SCORPION

Sagittarius takes aim at the figure of Scorpius, avenging the death of Orion by the celestial arthropod. The stars of the constellation Scorpius have been depicted in their proper positions and brightnesses.

NOVA

White dwarfs are among the tiniest and dimmest stars in our Milky Way galaxy. Yet under the right conditions they can flare up and blaze many thousands of times brighter than normal.

An average star will eventually become a feeble white dwarf after exhausting its nuclear fuels. However, a white dwarf in a binary star system may attract the gases necessary for nuclear fusion from its stellar companion.

The brightness of the white dwarf increases dramatically when this gas is ignited on its surface and it may briefly outshine all but the most brilliant stars in our galaxy.

ORION THE HUNTER

According to ancient Greek mythology, Orion was the giant son of Neptune and the greatest hunter the world had ever known. After being slain by Scorpius (the scorpion), the legendary warrior was placed in the heavens and is represented by the brilliant constellation which bears his name.

Although his figure is imaginary, the bright stars of Orion have been depicted in their proper positions, brightnesses and colors.

KING OF THE NORTH

Crowned by fire in a land of ice, this imperial king of the north stands sentinel amidst his frozen domain. Although the land is locked in a great Ice Age, the Pleistocene sun drives an auroral firestorm through the northern skies, casting an eery glow on this giant mammal.

Mammoths still roamed North America as recently as ten thousand years ago. Their extinction on the continent is thought to have been hastened by Ice Age peoples who hunted them for their hides and meat. Yet on Wrangel Island dwarf mammoths survived until just four thousand years ago, which puts them into the time of recorded history!