Arran Art Gallery

"La Catrina"

2009-01-04T11:56:00.001-08:00

This canvas, the actual painting, is only 2x3 inches.

I did this as a gift for a friend who, for some reason, has a thing about squirrels... and dead people. The Day of the Dead is one of her favorite art subjects, as she often makes La Catrinas out of terra cotta, glazes them, and fires them. They look quite nice. Here's my first-ever attempt at a Day of the Dead subject.

Too bad my camera phone is crap, and I took the pics while the paint was still wet. It would look much better now, but it's about 200mi away. Maybe I can get my friend to take a newer pic of this one and "Nutkin".

"Nutkin", a tribute to all squirrels

2009-01-04T11:52:00.000-08:00

This canvas, the original painting, is only 2x3 inches.

I did this one as a gift for a friend who really likes squirrels.

Evolutionary Biology Series: Fundamental Exploitation

2008-07-18T10:15:00.000-07:00

"Fundamental Exploitation" (14"x18") is for sale at $140 + s/h. To purchase this painting, please visit my store (PetPortraitsByArran) on Etsy.com.

This is the first in a series of non-commissioned works, called the Evolutionary Biology Series. You see the typical action of sperms (try to imagine literally millions of them) racing towards the egg. However, this isn't just about the creation of a new life. Once upon a very long time ago, gametes were pretty much the same -- there wasn't much definition between male and female. But once some gametes started to get larger, containing more life-giving nutrients, the smaller gametes started to select their mates for their large size. Eventually, the larger gametes became what we call "eggs", and the smaller ones, which continued to grow smaller until they carried basically nothing else except their genes, became "sperm". This is the original battle of the sexes. Truly, what we call male and female is completely arbitrary, but it's what we have designated as "female" that expends the most amount of time, energy, and resources towards the next generation.