Its already day 5 of this challenge which amazes me. A reminder that time flies and if you don't paint, the time is still going to fly, so why not paint? I find that painting helps to slow things down and makes me pay attention to the details... And in the best moments of paying attention, I find that this is where Joy resides...
Anyway, slowing my imagery down a bit, I went with a smaller painting today, this one titled “The Joy of Slowing Down” I think snails (the small kind) are pretty cute, plus have the added bonus of being a fun challenge to paint. Their 'skin' is not like any other creature I've painted (fish come close but not quite) and their spiraling shells can be tricky. I wanted to pair this guy with some friends and after placing a green umbrella on his back, ladybugs seemed a natural choice :) read below for some snail trivia and thank you for visiting!
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| "The Joy of Slowing Down", oil on panel, 8"x8" To purchase please click here |
Snail trivia :)
Fun fact #1 - Snail shells almost always spiral clockwise. But...true story - not too long ago, a common garden snail named Jeremy was discovered who had a shell that spiraled to the left. He he became famous. (to scientists anyway...) was studied and there was even a worldwide search to try to find him a girlfriend (turns out his left twisting shell prevented him from mating with righty snails..) If you are fascinated and want you can read more about Jeremy here.
Cool fact #2 - Pre-Columbian Americans saw snails as a symbol of rebirth and Joy as they believed the shell represented the circle of life. (Tis where I got the title idea... :)
And, a few more nifty tidbits - snails have an extraordinary sense of smell due to their near blindness and inability to hear... and, yes, they are indeed the slowest animals on the planet..
