Battling Nature
Having taken up gardening as a bit of a hobby, I've become quite conscious of those elements of nature that cause trouble: weather, animals, and bugs. "Exposed" 16.5 x 20.5 inches Mixed media on paper Click here to view more details With moths, I'm still not sure which ones are harmless and which ones are going to cause me headaches. The moth in the painting above arrived on a sunny afternoon, and sat perched against the outside of the house, periodically flexing its wings. I took plenty of close-up pictures, fascinated by the textures and markings on the wings and body. I knew I wanted to paint this creature in a work using sand, so I felt confident enough to use a palette knife to slap down some paint with decorative sand mixed into it. Of course, that confidence disappeared over the next few weeks, as I realized I had forgotten how difficult it can be to use sand as a texture in a painting. I grew to dislike "the moth." My son also seemed t