Finished! Caapiti

This was one of my entries for the Crystal Brush this year. I was surprised he didn't make first cut but I guess the piece is a little too chaotic and as a result the composition is a little off. It's one of those situations where  people noticed everything I wanted them to notice but it didn't work in my favor. I wanted the frog to blend in and match his environment so I colored him with the surrounding colors. Which suits the rules of nature, unfortunately the rules of mini painting can differ. If I would have painted his body in a more contrasting color, he would jump right out of his surroundings and be more compositionally sound. I still had a great time working on him and I still think I hit a new personal level with this piece, having used a lot of new materials and creating most of the base from scratch with a diversity of plants and animals. I sculpted and cut everything except the laser etched plants. See if you can find the snake and the butterfly, there are some frogs in there too ;)

Check him out on Coolminiornot

Here's a separate shot I took of the background before it was glued in place. I really enjoy the painted backdrop, just another piece to add some narrative. Welcome to the jungle, it's going to explode :)