Sketch of the Week

While the title of this blog, The Fanciful Lobster, implies my predilection for crustaceans, I've also liked frogs and other amphibians since I was a child. Today's sketch pays homage to both animals:

The frog you see here is a small burl carving that my family gave me for Christmas a few years ago. The crab claw is one of my beach finds, while the tendrils you see in the background are from my spider plant. 

I had recently moved the frog from an obscure, rather dark bookshelf to a more prominent place on the counter. The claw and several shells were also spread out along the counter, and I was struck by how well the frog and claw harmonized compositionally. It was inevitable that I would draw them.