22×30 watercolor; 30×34 framed
This painting was inspired by a very regal looking plumed (or green) Basilisk lizard I saw at the Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. His profile was quite striking! This lizard has earned another common name, the Jesus Christ Lizard, due to his ability to run across water. Basilisks are about 2 feet long, and are found in tropical rain forests of South America. I knew this character would have to be the main focus of the painting, but it took me awhile to figure out what else to include. I finally decided on an inner border of orchids (all based on photos I took at an orchid show) and an outer border of frogs. The frogs required lots of research. It was great fun to choose which species to include, and how to arrange them in the composition. I picked the Madagascar Tomato Frog and a few of the poison dart frogs because I had seen them in person at the Academy of Sciences.
1 Plumed Basilisk, Basiliscus plumifrons
2 Dumpy (White’s) Tree Frog, Litoria caerulea
3 Ranitomeya fantastica (Copper-head morph)
4 Amreega trivittata
5 Ranitomeya Benedicta
6 Rainbow Burrowning Frog, Scaphiophryne gottlebei
7 Ranitomeya lamasi (Panguana morph)
8 Ameerega silverstonei
9 Prismantis Rain Frog, new species
10 Denrobates azureus
11 Phyllobates vittatus
12 Madagascar Tomato Frog, Dyscophus antongilii
13 Ameerega basleri (Chrome-green morph)
14 Dendrobates tinctorius
15 Excidobates mysteriousus
16 Red-eyed Tree Frog, Agalychnis callidrydas
17 Dendrobates auratus
18 Ameerega basleri (Tarapoto morph)
19 Dendrobates histrionicus
20 Banded Horned Tree Frog, Hemiphractus fasciatus
21 Painted Mantella, Mantella madagascariensi
22 Ranitomeya sirensis
23 Variable Clown Tree Frog, Hyla triangulum
24 Ranitomeya variabilis (Nominal morph)
25 Ranitomeya fantiastica (Reticulated morph)
26 Clown Tree Frog, Hyla leucophyllata
27 Reinwardt’s Flying Frog, Rhacophorus reinwardtii
28 Oophaga pumilio
29 Dendrobates leucomelas
30 Ranitomeya uakarii
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