Since childhood, ever since I knew spiders existed, I’ve been terrified of them. So imagine my shock and horror as a kid when they didn’t just come 2” big like the wolf spiders that raced across our white livingroom carpet every October.
No.
They also came as big as 5-8 inches. Even ten, in some places in Africa. That’s the size of a dinner plate.
So, I went through life, living, and experiencing chills and physical revulsion here and there when I saw one even on tv.
But I also had a strange fascination with them. Why were they so big? Could they run faster than me? Could they come to Pennsylvania? Were they already there? Did they make sounds? And then the question which turned everything: “I wonder if you can dye a tarantula’s hair blue?” Because I asked that question while I was visiting my nieces and nephew, we all went on an internet search and learned they already came that way!
Recently, a few years ago, I started watching tarantula videos, and things turned even more: these handlers, or ‘T-keepers’, or ‘T-parents’, whatever they wanted to call themselves, opened up a whole new world about these creatures. I looked at them through the lens of my relationship with God and (shudder) started kind of liking them.
From YouTubers like DarkDen and TarantulaCollective, I learned they have moods. I also learned other things, which led me to see if I could paint them:
- They have personalities. One YouTuber had a T called ‘Miss Thailand Black’ who would ‘threat-posture’ (rise up on its back legs when it feels threatened) every time the guy tried to fill its water dish. It was the grouchiest spider ever. Another man had one from Arizona, a rose-haired tarantula, who let him pick it up, put it down, crawl over him, and seemed as good natured as a puppy.
- They come in old-world and new-world species. From there, there are thousands of classifications and colors of them.
- They are like most artists: they’d rather be alone in the dark making things.
- They come in unbelievable colors. The Lava Tarantula is black and looks like it’s glowing red from under its body. The Gooty Sapphire, from India, is quasar-blue.
- This next one I know from personal experience: When you pet them, they feel like kittens.
- If you drop them, they break.
- They would rather not bite you.
- It’s best not to pick them up, though people do.
- Tarantulas don’t sting, they bite. They have venom, not poison. They’re not deadly, and though some bites from old world species are ‘medically significant’, they won’t kill you.
- You can order tarantulas through the mail, but be sure you’re set up for them and have everything they need. Also, I wouldn’t order them in the winter, in case the mail is held up for any reason.
So what does all of this mean? Basically, I asked questions and the more I learned, the more I wanted to paint these creatures. So, here’s the Gooty Sapphire, which just sold. I have other tarantulas here on my site, and I will be painting a ‘t seladonia’ next; a brilliant rainbow-colored metallic, small tarantula that is blue as a baby (or, ‘sling’=’spiderling’).
Stay tuned!
