Symmetrical Composition
My inspiration is the colourful poison dart frogs of Central and South America. Their colourings correspond well to this primary colour scheme.
I spent time thinking about my composition while out for a walk and came up with a rough plan of two yellow frogs and a blue puddle with splashes.
I have always loved frogs and sensed there would be scope for animation by showing them in motion. I used some of my kids’ favourite childhood toys as reference material.
Once I had sketched a frog and cut out two symmetrical outlines, I positioned the pieces and decided to have the frogs facing away from each other with a suggestion they are hopping out of the puddle (in blue)
I was happy with the finished collage. It feels playful and and the subject matter suits the colour choices. One aspect I could change would be to vary the spots on each frog so they are similar rather than identical. I hadn’t fully grasped the possibility of doing this while I developed my composition.
Frog
.
Frog came visiting
croaked her wisdom
reminders of
beauty and freedom
.
Sang a song
of becoming
taking on a new form
perfect and delicate
.
Told a tale
green and gold
of rainy days
and hidden pools
of sunshine
warming tired skin
.
Of knowing
how to begin again
.
Frog came visiting
.
By Cary Owen