KID Sized!
Family Appropriate!
KIDDO Approved!
Meet Phil Wilson
Who creates the Stunning Art that becomes the Incredible Murals in Traveling Dinos
An Artistic Mission:
Bringing Dinosaurs to Life
It has been our goal for some time to create not just an Immersive Experience for your kids and families with our museum visits, but an Immersive Ambiance as well. That’s quite an ambitious goal with a touring museum. We draw inspiration from the way Disney creates that with their parks. You completely forget the outside world when you are there.
The Van Gough Experience has also accomplished this with their pop ups and spectacular total immersion of the art.
We strive to come closer to our vision of this. The constantly growing Traveling Dinos Museum features Phil Wilson’s art in which he captures dinosaurs and nature as if they were photos taken in person.
The warmth and ambiance of his work, along with historical and scientific accuracy, make for loved and special moments in the museum.
Not only has the legendary artist drawn for Disney, and many of the top paleontologists to give the world their first look at an artist’s conception of new and standing dinosaur discoveries, we’re honored that Phil really digs our mission, and is now an enthusiastic part of our vision.
You may know Phil’s work from the Ranger Rick series of children’s magazines, and his work is seen in many other books on dinosaurs too. If you see a dinosaur in Ranger Rick, it’s probably by Phil.
Also pretty cool, he illustrated Golden Books featuring the characters from the beloved PBS series Between the Lions!
For Tom Petty fans, Phil and his animation company did the trippy animation for Tom’s Music Video for Runnin’ Down a Dream. (Recently remastered and on Youtube.)
Oh, and those awesome Disney Plates that your mom and grandma had from The Bradford Exchange, yep, Phil did those too!
We are delighted to feature commissioned and licensed works of Phil’s, many of which are exclusive to Traveling Dinos.
From Concept to
Finished Storytelling Art
The concept/idea with Mary Anning was to tell two interwoven stories.
First, Mary Anning’s discovery of the second flying pterosaur ever discovered, and in recognition of this important happening in the history of paleontology.
Secondly, on the left of the art and soaring above the cliffs is a nod to “deep time” and when the pterosaur Dimorphodon ruled the skies.
Working with Phil on projects like this for Traveling Dinos is close to magical! From batting around ideas with him all the way through to a fully realized painting, it’s a fun and wildly creative process!
With the initial idea, Phil does a pencil sketch, then we discuss it and sometimes research additonal historical details to make sure we’re on the right path.
Then he layers, starting with the background, next the lighting and ambiance, followed by adding in Mary, her dog Tray and the Dimorphodons, then one last check through.
Once it's finished, a perfect digital photo is taken of the painting, and off the file goes to print mural size and then on to your kids and families to enjoy in the museum!
It's a true honor for us to display Phil's Paintings as Murals in
The Traveling Dinos Museum