Western diamondback rattlesnake rattle original artwork

Western diamondback rattlesnake rattle original artwork (Crotalus atrox)

matted, framed (see photo)
gouache on hot-press watercolor paper
Image size: 5 x 9 inches
Frame size: 13 x 17 inches

This Western diamondback rattle original artwork is archivally matted and framed with regular plexiglass in a dark rich brown wood frame.

This painting shows the rattle of a Western diamondback rattlesnake, sectioned to see the rattle segments clearly. Rattlesnakes add a segment to their rattle each time they shed their skin, but the most distal segments typically break off over time. In the wild, it is uncommon to find a many-segmented rattle that still has its original tip, or button. I sketched from a preserved specimen with a large incomplete rattle. Then I consulted multiple published references to figure out what the external and internal shapes of a complete rattle would look like. I illustrated it for a book about venomous snakes.