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ART-fromthe-HEART — Crustacean Salutation

#carabevan
Published: 2008-08-25 19:24:36 +0000 UTC; Views: 3288; Favourites: 99; Downloads: 0
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I love to paint animals that are a challenging because few artists would attempt such complicated images. My most complex painting yet has to be this one: “Crustacean Salutation.” The subject is a giant Japanese spider crab, seen at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, GA. It’s the largest arthropod (the animal family that includes crab, shrimp, insects, and spiders) in the world. These mammoth crabs have unusually long legs and each leg has been reported to grow as long as six feet! Their spiky, dome shaped bodies can measure 15 inches on their own. They typically weigh in at 40 pounds and are strict scavengers, cleaning the ocean floor of dead animals and the occasional mollusk. Japanese spider crabs are not often hunted by man because they live 150 to 1,000 feet below the ocean. These crabs are well suited for their life as bottom feeders though; whenever they molt their shells they will eat it to absorb the nutrients from it! Unfortunately, they are considered a delicacy in Japan – when and if they can be caught. Despite that, these giants are not endangered and if left alone they can live to be a 100 years old! The giant Japanese spider crab may not be in danger of extinction, but it’d still be nice to see them greeting people in the future for centuries to come.

“Crustacean Salutation” 16x20 inch canvas. Acrylic. © Cara Bevan ‘08

Time: 34 hours, 25 minutes
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Comments: 38

wizemanbob [2009-04-24 04:26:27 +0000 UTC]

Overall

Vision

Originality

Technique

Impact


Crustacean Salutation is a portrait of a Japanese spider crab.

The detail *ART-fromthe-HEART puts into her painting is, as always, exceptional. Here, maybe even more than usual. I don't think I've ever seen a picture of a crab with enough detail that each individual joint is visible, and I certainly haven't seen the texture so effectively shown.

What's more, as the creature stares out with its beady little eyestalks and waves a claw at its audience, *ART-fromthe-HEART adds a bit of history about her subject, informing us on the niceties of the species.

And, behind the crab, something lurks in the darkness ...

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AndreasFrancis [2018-04-10 01:13:23 +0000 UTC]

Yikes. Scary looking fella. Great work

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ART-fromthe-HEART In reply to AndreasFrancis [2018-04-10 21:26:11 +0000 UTC]

They are pretty freaky creatures! Thanks!

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Ancient--One [2015-08-26 19:41:11 +0000 UTC]




Congratulations!!

Your wonderful Art has been placed in our feature folder at

 NaturesHaven

Kind Regards!!

ancient--one

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ART-fromthe-HEART In reply to Ancient--One [2015-09-14 15:58:52 +0000 UTC]

A second feature?! Thank you!

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Ancient--One In reply to ART-fromthe-HEART [2015-09-14 22:14:07 +0000 UTC]

Trust me... I'm very picky and ONLY those deserving recognition, get featured.  So, you're  quite welcome.  You deserve it!!!

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Baby-Goat [2014-09-17 15:12:22 +0000 UTC]

That is some INTENSE detail!!

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ART-fromthe-HEART In reply to Baby-Goat [2014-09-18 03:18:23 +0000 UTC]

Crabs are complex cool creatures! Thank you!

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DreamTheorem [2014-08-15 00:24:51 +0000 UTC]

The shading/lighting here is beautiful, I really love how you painted all the different textures too <3 You have some really amazing realism skills.

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ART-fromthe-HEART In reply to DreamTheorem [2014-08-16 17:41:42 +0000 UTC]

Aw thank you! I credit OCD lol, no detail spared!

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Thea-Nu [2014-08-07 23:26:19 +0000 UTC]

Goodness, this actually blew me off!

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ART-fromthe-HEART In reply to Thea-Nu [2014-08-09 20:31:49 +0000 UTC]

Why thank you!

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rieke-b [2012-06-20 19:40:15 +0000 UTC]

Oh my, this must have been challenging, indeed! I had to dissect a Chinese mitten crab in the lab once, so I know how complicated crab anatomy is!
I've heard about these giant crabs, they're just astonishing! Are they really that bright red?

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ART-fromthe-HEART In reply to rieke-b [2012-06-20 20:49:25 +0000 UTC]

For sure! You dissected a crab?! That's some strange biology class. XD Yep they're bright pink-ish, red where the shadows are. Although the lighting in the aquarium probably embellished it a bit.

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rieke-b In reply to ART-fromthe-HEART [2012-06-22 12:10:08 +0000 UTC]

Yes, we had to dissect them for a zoology module. The Chinese mitten crab is considered a pest in Germany, but I still didn't like to take one of them apart. Jelka couldn't bear it, so I had to do all the "dirty work". I tried to be respectful, though, and worked very neatly. Some of our fellow students produced some kind of muddy crab cocktail, instead!

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HerrSchrecklich [2011-03-16 18:14:27 +0000 UTC]

Acrylic, to me anyway, is evil. I have such a hard time working with it but there's some sort of mastery going on here. Really amazing. Great job!

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ART-fromthe-HEART In reply to HerrSchrecklich [2011-03-18 01:37:00 +0000 UTC]

I can see how you think that - certain brands of acrylic are crap and I hate them too. But I use a brand that's thick like oils and you can use washes and build up thick layers and do all sorts of neat effects. Look up atelier interactive acrylics if you're interested.

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HerrSchrecklich In reply to ART-fromthe-HEART [2011-03-18 03:36:12 +0000 UTC]

I'll check them out. Thanks!

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Florence-Hispers [2010-01-28 00:05:29 +0000 UTC]

Ah, Japanese spider crabs--amazing, fascinating creatures, but man are they scary! The first one I saw was a preserved/model one in a Chinese natural history museum, and I thought it was exaggerated. Boy was I wrong!

Fantastic painting, as always.

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ART-fromthe-HEART In reply to Florence-Hispers [2010-01-29 21:30:49 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, they look so creepy when they wave at you and tap on the glass! They can get so big. Thanks!

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Divulged [2009-05-11 03:07:32 +0000 UTC]

That is amazingly detailed!

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wizemanbob [2009-04-24 04:09:28 +0000 UTC]

I wish I could make out the background. Is that rocks or crabby friends?

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ART-fromthe-HEART In reply to wizemanbob [2009-04-24 18:47:36 +0000 UTC]

I intentially made it hard to see, but yes, it's other crabby friends. It's blurry legs and a part of a body. It probably would have been better to make them more detailed but I didn't want to distract from the guy in front.

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wizemanbob In reply to ART-fromthe-HEART [2009-04-25 06:09:16 +0000 UTC]

I actually like the effect. They're there in the shadows, but--as you say--not enough to distract from the subject himself. And the dark background emphasizes the deep-water feel.

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JWiesner [2009-04-21 19:29:05 +0000 UTC]

Holy crab!
This is some amazing details you put in this! It really makes it look like a wildlife photo, man. The contrast between the color tones and the shading are excellent as well.

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ART-fromthe-HEART In reply to JWiesner [2009-04-21 19:38:53 +0000 UTC]

LOL!
All those sections took me the longest time...my next big painting will rival it.

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JWiesner In reply to ART-fromthe-HEART [2009-04-21 19:49:01 +0000 UTC]

I noticed you uploaded a lot of fantastic stuff! Sorry if I didn't give comments that often, it's just that I can't seem to think of something constructive to write... then I end up writing nothing. XP

What's that next big painting about anyway?

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ART-fromthe-HEART In reply to JWiesner [2009-04-22 18:34:07 +0000 UTC]

LOL, that's okay! I totally understand.

Next I plan to do a flower...not just any old flower, but a huge dinnerplate sized dahlia! It's bright red and gorgeous...a seroius challenge.

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Kumo-Kami [2009-04-21 19:09:05 +0000 UTC]

Fantastic! Very impressive detail!

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gdpr-7669258 [2009-03-27 14:26:53 +0000 UTC]

The detail in this is impressive, I love the lighting as well, especially the deep red towards the back. Very interesting subject too. :]

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ART-fromthe-HEART In reply to gdpr-7669258 [2009-03-27 21:05:02 +0000 UTC]

I like to paint things others haven't before - makes it interesting! I mean, who else has seen the underside of a crab like that?

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Marco0-5 [2008-11-11 14:55:18 +0000 UTC]

Holy mother of god that looks like it was hard!! Im a real amateur painter myself and i can only imagine how long that took! You are really skilled! Label me dead on impressed!

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ART-fromthe-HEART In reply to Marco0-5 [2008-11-11 23:08:28 +0000 UTC]

LOL! Thank you! It was, seriously one of the hardest paintings of 2007. So many sections! I think it took around 37 hours...a lot comparitively, but I've got a couple that have passed that since then.

You have an impressive gallery too! Keep on drawing (and coloring, you're real good at it)! Your dragons are COOL!

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Marco0-5 In reply to ART-fromthe-HEART [2008-11-13 15:08:06 +0000 UTC]

Well thanks! I'm gunna redo do that wolf-like one but i'm actually happy with the others!

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Meerin [2008-09-20 22:33:44 +0000 UTC]

I love all your paintings, I admire your work. I never was one for painting or anything beyond drawing untill second semester in school last year. I didnt start anything colourful until then. I have painted a couple pictures since then *none too fancy* and I only started digital work at the beggining of summer. but I have fallen in love with it. Colors just make things all the more better to look at. And now I am moving towards trying sculpture, just need to get the supplies. The best thing is you can use anything and I have plans to use some of my snake's old skin to make a dragon.

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ART-fromthe-HEART In reply to Meerin [2008-09-22 19:44:07 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, we're always learning! Thanks! I wish you success with all that you experiment and do! That snake skin dragon is going to be neat! I never considered using that as a sculpting medium (then again, I only find wild snake skins and I won't use them.) GOOD LUCK!!!!

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UniquelyYours [2008-08-26 02:50:37 +0000 UTC]

Oh wow... this is so cool! I recently saw this guys dancing against the glass wall at the Long Beach Aquarium. They were so fun to watch. You did an excellent job rendering the color and detail!

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ART-fromthe-HEART In reply to UniquelyYours [2008-08-26 17:59:54 +0000 UTC]

Thanks! That painting was really hard...the colors, the intricate lines and details...I saw the guy at the Georgia Aquarium and he waved when I took a reference picture. ^_^

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