Chameleon Painting May 2008

I completed this essay and the painting sometime in May of 2008

Animals and nature play a big role in my inspiration for art. Growing up I have always admired and respected nature. The way I see it, we as humans have a connection towards animal and other species. Scientifically all living species are related. Currently I feel that people don’t appreciate nature much. I want to recreate nature and its vibrations and colors to a frozen moment in time created through my thoughts and visual representation.
The materials used for this piece were acrylic paints. I watered down the acrylic paints to create the wet effect. I applied the wet acrylic paint directly to the board.
In this painting I tried to re-create three textures water, grass and chameleon skin. In a sense the painting represents nature cycle. Nature requires water, which is essential to all life on planet earth. The water is represented through the light green paint at the bottom of the painting. The water is dripping in the opposite direction to balance the green grass on top of the painting. I applied plenty of water to create a water effect on the painting itself. The green and brown on top of the panting represents moss that grows in jungles or forests. The chameleon animal intrigues me. The vibrant colors of the chameleon attract my attention and catch my eye. Such vibrant color was hard to capture, layering colors and shades were needed to paint the chameleon’s skin. The use of white paint mixed with other colors, in fact make the chameleons skin more realistic. I detailed many parts of the chameleon but it fades into the painting. The purpose of fading gives the chameleon a sense of wonder. The feeling of wonder and entering the unknown realm of nature, is captured through the chameleon. During the process of painting the chameleon I learned what colors mix well with others.
The piece as a whole represents nature. I wanted to give the feelings of stepping into the wild the nature. Elements that are important to me are water and plants and trees. The chameleon is unique, solitary and can stand by itself in nature. The observers can make their own conclusions about my painting. The strong force of nature will continue to shape this world.