This painting is in response to the Covid-19 Pandemic. When Ohio started talking about reopening, my first thought was that I understood the need, but that it was too soon. This thought connected to finding a Wood Bee in the yard during one of the late spring freezes. I found the bee stunned in the cold grass and whispered that it was “Too Soon” to come out little bee. He is the cautious character in the painting, while the snail, carrying his home on his back, is eager to slowly move forward.
From this last studio image, I added a glaze of iridescent medium to the shell to unify it and tone it a bit. A glaze of purple was brought into the shadows and I painted the details on the bee.