Cicada

I am in a art challenge with several other talented artists called Nature Gathered. For the next year, we will complete an 8" X 8" canvas with the medium of our choice, all with a nature based theme. I thought I would share my August creation with you and invite you to visit Nature Gathered over the next year to enjoy the interpretation of each month's theme by 15 different artists:

CICADA

As a child growing up in the Midwest, the droning buzz of the cicada brought anticipation of summers to be and memories of summers past to mind. So this composition came together as tribute to those hot and humid summers, catching tadpoles in the creek, swimming in the lake, riding in the car with the window down for air conditioning, dreaming on the lawn in the evening and the flight of the fireflies at night. I used Golden Liquid acrylics, mixed with their new line, Open Acrylics (they stay wet much longer, allowing more painterly affects). The design was free-handed based on a textbook photo of a cicada and memories from my childhood. Enjoy.