More of Froggie

I worked a little more on the frog-on-the-shelf painting.  The frog is beginning to look more there. And I tidied up the edge of the shelf where a bit of paper over-hangs and confuses things. I don’t know how long I’ll work on the painting, which is a little oil study on paper. I’m beginning to get interested in it, am enjoying going into its small spaces.  And I like watching the light make subtle changes among the actual objects.

The Eiffel Tower, the blue bottle, the shell, the yellow vase — I ignored all of them today. I had only a little time in which to work, having taken up the picture again near the end of the period when the light is right.  The vase behind the frog which has the songbird design on it needs to twist so that the object recedes in space.  And the sea shell is little more than a gear drive shape at the edge.  If I continue working, all these things will need their turn.  But today was devoted to Froggie and his edges — to all the passages that press against him.

While working and watching, I began getting caught up in the aspect of figurines on display. In yesterday’s post I remarked that two of the objects have associations with my mother. The whole idea of figurines also takes me back to memories of my paternal grandmother.  I hadn’t realized it until today’s session.  Grandma must have had frog figurines.  She had all sorts of little objects of that sort.  They sat in rows in her living room window.  They were exactly the kind of thing to fascinate a small child, such as I was way back when.

The shelf of things looks wonderful in the natural light of the room. I took a photo which I’ve doctored enough to render the things visible.  The squash from today’s other work sits on the shelf under Frog & Company.