Medium/Support/Size
Acrylic on 16 x 20 canvas
My Thoughts About This Challenge
The caterpillar hair at first glance appeared to be the biggest challenge. However the more the photo was studied, it became clear that painting the caterpillar on a green branch with a stark white background was going to be out of character and sort of "blah". The first step was to paint the entire canvas with a very light blue (in the photo it may appear white)
Our back garden here in Florida has endemic plants that are natural butterfly food, lantana. The flowers of the plant come in three colors which are basically bluish, yellow and red. A small bouquet was assembled using one of each color, then photographed and printed off to use as a background. And hopefully a more attractive piece.
Tips and Tricks
- Painting the hair was tough. A dry stiff brush and a fine soft brush were combined to create the hair.
- The lantana background (colors) made the hair more difficult to see. Perhaps next time lightening the lantana to push it farther into the backgound will help.
