This week, I was in the mood to paint something realistic-y in the sketchbook. So far, this is the result. It shows a cicada stepping out, almost delicately, from its old exoskeleton. So far, I worked on the sketch for about an hour, and the painting for a few more.
I’m secretly fond of insects generally and actually love cicadas. There’s even one of those dried exoskeletons – “exuviae” – carefully placed on a little tray in my house. The species in the inspiration photo doesn’t live in my area. Its iridescence and translucence seemed like it would be so fun to paint, however, that I had to try it.
So far, I have a nice first layer of gouache over most of the cicada, the shell, and the background. No part of the painting is finished yet, and the background is way too vibrant (even for me). I plan on toning it down as I add more detail.
I’m having fun with this piece, but I don’t want to spend a huge amount of time on it. I won’t be able to make it into anything like prints with the spine seam running down the middle. However, I’m starting to really love the look of these double-page spreads when I look back on them. I’m definitely using two sketchbook pages at once more often!