INSPIRATION
Heading into this new year, I wanted an animal that chooses change. Hermit crabs have adapted to occupy empty discarded mollusk shells. The shells protect their fragile bodies. As they grow, hermit crabs move to larger shells. I found an article that included some photos that I used for reference. There is also a video of crabs swapping shells.
STRATEGY
There are no whites in this image. There are areas of really light tan. I watched this video. It’s not the same shell type or colors and the painter is much more realistic than I am hoping to be, but it did suggest that I start with background, then spend time on the shell, then the body.
CREATION – session logs
- I put in the tan background, which means I have the outline of the shell. It was very effortful because of the way I was positioned in the wheelchair. I was struck by how easy it is for an able-bodied person who can use a big brush versus me. No time for jealousy. Just convert it to sympathetic joy (how wonderful for the painter that she can use her and that way) and deal with what’s real.
- I painted the shell in stripes. There’s no volume so far.
- Painted most of the crab. I really don’t know crab anatomy, just trying to paint what I see.
- Another effortful session. I found it hard to reach the water and the paper. I was putting the dark around the claws. It’s not ideal paint background after foreground. I looked up crab anatomy of for next time.
- I had a frustrating painting session. I wanted to paint the eyes and try for more volume in both shell and crab. The black I was using for the eyes went wild. I couldn’t quite reach the painting, so I was stretching forward which got me poorly arranged in the chair.
- My daughter Alexis was here. At my request, she finished the eyes using colored pencil. She also added some red marks to the shell. Thanks, Alexis. You gave this crab personality! Tan
INSIGHT.
- What surprised me?
- How difficult it is to know what to paint when the animal is so different in anatomy.
- Working just at the level of struggle keeps me involved in the process. If I found it easy, I would lose interest.
- What have I learned?
- It’s important that I be arranged correctly in the wheelchair before I start to paint.
- I learned about hermit crabs.
- How important eyes are.
- Gradations of tan.
- What do I want us to learn? How to give a shape volume and shadows.
- Just as crabs have to find the right size shell, we have to find the right size inspiration. Too big and We fail to grasp it. Too small and we get bored.