Critically Endangered
Around the World in 80 Days - Day 20
We've made it into port in Mumbai, India now with Phileas Fogg. During our time in India, I will try to do animals that are from near where Phileas would have been. Big country, doesn't seem right to do an animal from the opposite side of the country. No guarantees because I also try to make sure I'm not only doing frogs, not doing 3 or 4 birds in a row, that sort of thing. I really do try to mix things up and keep this from getting boring or predictable.
These toads are found in an area smaller than 4 square miles. The forest they live in is declining, so unfortunately the toad's numbers are as well. There also doesn't seem to be any protection in place for them whatsoever. They are 1.1-1.4 inches long snout to vent length. Interestingly at least to me, unlike so many animals I've painted, there were quite a few pictures of these. There was not a corresponding amount of information about them though. I expect the lack of information to go hand in hand with a lack of pictures. Hopefully enough people other than photographers will eventually decide to care enough about these frogs and they can gain protection.
I have said before, I try to keep the first section of these posts more scientific and let more of my personality out in the second section. So, here you go. I'm a bit silly and I'm the first to admit it. I anthropomorphize animals, and pretty much everything to a small extent. I've decided there is a little competition to see which pencil becomes unusable first. While it looks as if the black one will win hands (lead?) down, it is still up in the air. The top pencil (chocolate brown), is in third place but has no hope of winning. Tomorrow's painting is a fish that will use both black and cream, and the cream needs sharpening! I want to get as much out of the pencils as I possibly can. There isn't a reward for winning this race, and I'm undoubtedly the only one who is interested in the outcome. That's ok, I'm pleased with how long these pencils have lasted and this is a fun thing for me to bring a bit of excitement to things. I've had the cream one since near the start of this project, and the black one I got and used the first time July, 14th. I use black in pretty much every painting, there have been only a couple that did not use black. Once I found this black, I fell in love with it because it is a much truer black than what I'd been using up until that point. I do have replacements for both pencils, so there won't be a panic when I can no longer hold them.