Tiny Frog with Zinnia

Maybe it's because I usually root for the little guy, but this frog just ended up tiny next to the towering Zinnia.  It makes spring seem closer somehow.  Our 50-degree weather does a lot for the illusion as well. 

This painting was done in transparent watercolor on 140-pound Arches cold-press paper as well as some black and white acrylic for the background and frog highlights.  The fine lines on the leaves were made by gently scoring the first layer of paint, while it was still wet, with a blunt object (in this case, I used an embossing tool from my scrapbook supplies).  When the second transparent layer is placed, the pigment settles into the lines and creates nice skinny lines that I could probably never do as well with a paintbrush.  It's a cool trick.  I like cool tricks.