Queen of Hearts: Komodo Dragon Ballerina, 2022, acrylic on canvas, 36 x 24 in. / 91.44 x 60.96 cm.

Queen of Hearts: Komodo Dragon Ballerina, Mary Wertsch, 2022, acrylic on canvas, 36 x 24 in. / 91.44 x 60.96 cm.

It's axiomatic: Anyone who embarks on a project to paint all the face cards for a playing card deck of Reptiles Playing Sports must include the world's largest lizard, the Komodo Dragon. It's monstrous, terrifying, aggressive--so of course I made it a delicate ballerina. Someone had to do it.