It's Valentine's day and strawberries are on my mind... heart shaped, sweet and juicy.. they are perfection in a berry. This painting is the 3rd in my Hawking's snail series, which is about a snail trying out new and different shells. Today, she's trying on a strawberry for size... I'm loving the luscious red and am very pleased with the 'expression' on the snail's face :) Incidentally, about reds, I have been playing with red a lot lately and have suddenly found my palette sometimes has upwards of 5 different reds on it, to achieve the perfect effect. Alizarin crimson, cad red medium and dark, quinacridone red and rose madder are all ones I've been using for their subtle differences in transparency and hue.
As usual, when I choose a new subject to explore, even if I am completely fictionalizing things, I do some research to dig deeper to see what I can learn. Scroll down to read a few more interesting bits...
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| Snailberry, oil on panel, 8"x8" to purchase, please click here |
Turns out I knew next to nothing about snails. For instance, I had no idea about snail anatomy (how would I?) I was amazed to find out that the shell was not just a hollow place snails could retract their outward bodies into.. indeed, the shell holds all of their organs and more.. Snails have lungs, stomachs, a liver and kidneys! Finding this out, I realize that my snail friend would have to think things through a bit before settling on a shell that would work.. but it's fun to imagine :)
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