I have been doing a lot more detailed paintings recently, trying to achieve more hyper realistic effect. Here is one of my most recent paintings, it is based on a close up photograph of a grass hopper.

Here is the photograph it is based upon:

The photograph is by photographer Levon Biss (You can see more of his work HERE)

This painting is 8 x 10 inches, using acrylic paint on canvas board and white ink. It took around 16 hours to paint and I had to use a tiny paintbrush at points to get the correct details.

I used the grid method to help me draw out my picture then painted it in stages as you can see above.

I enjoyed painting this unusual subject matter! Let me know what you think and if you’d like to see more bug paintings!