Caterpillar

Because this one-of-a-kind piece is highly textured, the images below may show faint "hot spots" caused by light reflecting off the peaks of paint. Additional scans are available on request.

This painting was a thrill to create and it is a thrill to see and touch. It is very natural, very organic. The colors and textures and layers feel like nature to me. And the composition is so clear and open and dynamic. The colors just sing, they are so deep and vibrant. It is a real treat. This piece continues my interest in the subtle merging of language and art with a single phrase painted in tiny letters in the lower right. The words read, "Transformation cannot be rushed."

Caterpillar is a hopeful, balanced image ripe with a sense of possibility. It captures that long road many of us walk on our way to becoming what we cannot help but become. I am hopeful that this cheery reminder of grand changes to come will bring a touch of comfort and magic to your home or office.

How Caterpillar was created..... Once the black gesso primer dried, I used palette knives to create some bold, highly-textured, expressionist color fields. I painted what would be the land with beautiful shades of red and orange and umber. And I painted the sky with warm buttery yellows. Once that underpainting dried, I used palette knives to lay down several layers of color. I built up different shades of green over the land and unusual blue-purple hues in the sky. I purposely scraped the edge of the knife across the textures from the underpainting to allow bits of the colors from below to peak through. Finally, I used small detail brushes to add highlights and to paint the fabulous star of this piece, the Wooly Bear caterpillar. And to add the words which were painted in tiny black letters.

(The sides have been lightly textured and painted black. This is a digital photo. The scans above are more accurate.)

Caterpillar was painted on a gallery wrapped canvas with staple-free sides. It looks beautiful displayed as it is without framing. Or it can be easily and affordably framed as it requires no matting or glass.