The Big Three
The Splendid Poison Frog (Dedrobates Speciosis)
The Granular Poison Frog-Green Jeans (Dendrobates Granuliferus)
The Strawberry Poison Frog (Dendrobates Pumilio)
4' X 6', acrylic on canvas
In the private collection of Bobby Melatti
During our 1997 trip to the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica, my wife and I encountered a guide who took us to an area where we could get close up photos of Dendrobates Granuliferus. The walk through the jungle at Tiskita Lodge was paved with all sorts of exotic fruit bearing trees brought in by its owner and after going down steep hills of green forest and red earth we could hear the pinging of the frogs. Our guide Luis was careful to point out the sounds to listen for and before we knew it, he had a poison frog in the palm of his hand. He let us touch and photograph it. The frog's beautifully textured granular back glistened in the dim light like a tiny jewel.
Later we visited a serpentarium in San Jose and saw the other two species indigenous to Costa Rica. We had actually seen and touched the three most popular poison frogs in Costa Rica! The experience excited me so much that I immediately began this piece upon my return to the United States.
I could not resist giving the viewer a visual representation of the tactile qualities of these frogs. Every glistening drop and brilliant red and orange color had to be just like the real experience we had gone through. The fragments are a vehicle to keep the viewer's eye roving around the canvas in search of the next little frog and to get a different textural experience in each piece.