Shadowboxes

One of my favorite art forms recently has been the shadow box. I find the ability to create scenes in three dimensions allows me additional flexibility when I want to walk the boundary of realism.

My initial idea was for a water strider floating on surface tension above the ripples reflected in the water.

I love the way the shadow moves with the light and the way the tips of the feet are the center points for the radiating lines in the background.

My next attempts sought to bring more dimension to the backgrounds and began to incorporate mixed media paper crafted elements like flowers and leaves.

Although I was enjoying these pieces, I was beginning to feel stagnant only painting insects. So for my next shadow box I returned to a water scene and painted my first koi fish.

I used layers of chip board to build a dimensional background and then painted my signature ripples cascading across. In the foreground, pressed against the glass, I painted a fish swimming tranquilly.

Recently, I've taken my newfound confidence for painting animals higher up the food chain and added new entries including a frog and a bird (with a grasshopper).

My love and loyalty is always with insects so I'll close with my most recent work yet, a series of bees in a mixed media scene.

I'm excited to see where inspiration takes me next!