Double Take -- by Mark Sproxton

Emerging from her awkward position under an ankylosaur skeleton, the fossil restoration painter smiles, puts down her brush and flashes a welcoming smile. "This is Uma," she says, motioning toward the greenish coloured, couch-sized dinosaur skeleton. "We name all our dinosaurs."

Jen Bysterveld puts the finishing touches on Uma.

Next to Uma in the high-ceillinged, open spaced painting warehouse are two other dinosaurs, all repaired, mounted, painted and ready to be shipped across the globe. Dinosaur skeletons are just some of the final products the painting crew helps restore. In other parts of the warehouse, mammoth tusks and brightly coloured, sparkling ammonites (shells of critters similar to snails) also await the artistry of the painters before sales to museums and private collectors.

"I like the dinosaur bones for sure," explained Jennifer Bysterveld. "It's a whole different technique you use. Instead of painting with wet paint, it's kind of a dry brushing (technique). The ammonites are fun because they're brilliantly coloured. The tusks are hard to paint because it's hard to match the colours, they're all variations of white and cream. The two best tusk painters have painted tusks for two or three years and they're just getting comfortable with them."

While painting may not sound like tiring work, she says the opposite holds true. "It's draining because you have to be creative for eight hours. When you come in in the morning you prepare the pallets of paint and sit and paint pretty much for eight hours. It's draining. You have to make sure you get up and move." (The Calgary company she works for asked to remain anonymous as there are very limited work opportunities.)

Most of the artists on staff have post-secondary art training, and everyone has a knack for colour matching, patience and an eye for detail. All are comfortable working in a team environment and have no problem helping each other with problems, or offering friendly words of advice on a completed item. For all, much of the training came on the job. "Who learned about painting bones in art college," Bysterveld asks, as she picks up her brush to resume her place working on Uma.