Crabs and a Willet!

 "Blue Man, Blue"

This painting is a departure from my normal sepia toned 12 x 12 canvases. I get requests from collectors for specific spots in their homes. Sometimes large, sometimes small, the special requests are always a treat to complete! 

Did you know you can tell a male crab from a female by their claws? Boys are blue, Girls are red. More specifically, they are mentioned to have "painted" their claws much like a woman would paint her nails. I found this out while researching blue crabs, same information located on several websites of a scientific nature. I have not tested this theory out on my own, but have asked several folks to check and get back with me! 

Nobody ever has contacted me about it.

 I am still curious, is it true?

"Blue Man, Blue" 12 x 12 Acrylic on canvas, Painting 5 of the 100 Days

"It takes Two to Tango"

This painting came about as we were walking for turtles a few weeks back. Another day on the beautiful, crowded, Orange Beach. We also had one of our Pastors from church with us because he wanted to walk the beach at dawn. It was a gorgeous morning, we walk before the sun rises completely so we can beat the tourists trampling possible nesting sites. This particular morning, we did not find a nest, we did find thousands of shells and shell pieces. 

We also came across these two in their dance of possible death. Ghost crabs are a favorite of mine to watch with their frantic running about, trying to avoid being stepped on by the giants walking in their midst. They range in size from an inch to much larger, maybe 5 inches across with their legs. This little guy was wary of the bird watching him, and we stopped to watch this dance unfolding before us. They traded quick moves, each one sizing up the other. They moved quickly up toward the wrack line, then onto the sandy beach. There are dozens of holes that belong to these little creatures, and if you are quiet you may actually see one cleaning his home. They are also territorial, defending themselves from the other locals. These two however , were nowhere near this little guys hole! He kept trying to get back to his spot of beach to no avail. The Willet kept pushing him further and further from his home, with the crab frantically going from moving in a defensive posture, to just plan giving it his all. The bird made a few attempts to stab this little guy, but he always danced out of the way. Finally, the crab got far enough away that when the bird glanced in another direction he shot down a convenient escape hole.

I am certain that another battle ensued underneath the sand, after he popped into another crab's domain. I guess the crab choose the lesser of two evils, one above, the other below. We did not see him resurface, so we can only assume that he finally got away when the Willet vacated the beach head he had established.

"It takes Two to Tango" 15 x 30 Acrylic on canvas, Painting 6 of the 100 Days