“

Life will not be contained. Life breaks free. Life expands to new territories and crashes through barriers, painfully, maybe even dangerously, but, uh… well, there it is…

— Dr. Ian Malcolm: Jurassic Park 1993

I have always loved space, especially nebulae and all things SCIFI. One day, the idea of a Frog with a nebula behind it came to my mind, and I knew I had to paint it. This piece took on a life of its own while I was painting it. As I worked on the value study/underpainting, it showed me something new and how it wanted to be created. While working on the nebula gibblets, they started looking like tadpoles to me, so I leaned into that. I came up with the idea for the life cycle of a frog being formed out of the nebula.

As I continued to work out the concept, Dr. Ian Malcolm’s Quote came to me, and this artwork took on its true meaning. “Life uh, finds a way”

Media: Hand-Painted Digital

Apps & Hardware: Rebelle 7 Pro, Wacom Cintiq

Process Video

Check out this quick timelapse video that shows my process as I build up the layers. I start with a sketch to get the form down. Then I pop in a color background and do a value study/underpainting. Once that’s done, I start working in color and details.