The Great Ant Drowning

Oil on Canvas, 23.5 x 23.5 inch

This painting depicts the moment George and I found a collection of ants swimming in our pond. It appeared as though they had fallen in and were using one another as a bridge.
It was such a spectacle and we tried to rescue the ants but decided not to intervene with nature and they were unfortunately all dead the next day. Because of this I attempted to create a somewhat heavenly feeling with the almost white shade of blue in the bottom left and top right corners of the piece as if they were reaching up but accepting their fate. I believe this was rather effective and is compositionally reminiscent of Michelangelo’s ‘The Creation of Adam’. The three small ochre dots in the centre of the top third of the painting represent the ants, as I felt it would be overwhelming and unnecessary to add any more of them.