Critically Endangered
I am doing a whole week of Bush Frogs this week. This is a life-sized rendition at 40mm SVL (snout to vent length). While researching them I found it very interesting that their eggs don't hatch until the tadpoles have already turned into frogs! I can just imagine how cute and teeny-tiny they are. This frog has mostly been found in the canopy of forests in the Western Ghats, a mountain range in India. They are losing habitat due to the expanding tea plantations. Unfortunately, they live in such a small area that habitat loss can be devastating. That is likely why, when their population numbers are completely unknown, they are listed as critically endangered.
I had initially intended to do one large painting this whole week, just adding a frog daily. They are all from the Western Ghats so I thought that it would be kind of fun change. I realized though, that I would not be able to do that with watercolour. With acrylics, digital, or oil I could add frogs on top of other frogs without worrying about bits that overlap. Watercolour doesn't let you do that though, so for the first time in this project I've used a regular pencil. The way I draw these normally is with the base colour (which doesn't erase terribly well), and I incorporate the sketch into the painting. This will be erased and replaced with colour. The line down the middle is masking fluid. It will keep my pile straight but not be something I have to erase. For today, I have done the Ponmudi's outline at twice life-sized and tomorrow will add the next frog into the pile. I will add colour when I can. Thought it would be nice to show the progression though, so I will share the large one as I go. I like the idea of making a frog-pile, it is like a dog-pile only slippery, and not fluffy or warm.
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