Steel Rhino
Drawn as an exercise in linework and then digital colouring, this is a tribute to the iconic rhinocerous engraving by Albrecht Durer (1471-1528) dated 1515.The title comes from the name of one of the rock bands in which Borin's younger son plays drums. They perform classic rock: Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Black Sabbath - the first two of whom, in particular, Borin was listening to and loving at the same age as his son (about 16) when the bands first exploded onto the scene.
Durer may never have seen a rhinocerous in the flesh, so it's not too surprising that the protective carapace of the beast resembles a suit of armour. It's a natural history piece taken into an imaginative dimension, perforce. The figure was turned around to emphasize its original source and the whole thing rendered in dip pen and ink on paper. The colour version, however, was based on a pen & ink outline drawing which was scanned and coloured in PhotoShop. We think it's bit fruity and it looked good on the limited edition white T-shirts we created.
