War of the Spiders

Tarantulas are some of my favorite animals, so of course I had to make up a story about them.

If you know spiders, you know that females are usually bigger and stronger than the males, and after mating the female often devours the male. In this fantastical spider society, the males are fighting for their rights and equality with females. A couple of females, such as the goliath birdeater battling the brazilian red and white tarantula, have even joined the fight. Unfortunately, the leader of the movement has become corrupt. Rather than simply fighting in defense, he has turned to terrorist tactics such as burning egg sacs and attacking mother tarantulas with a four-foot long centipede. His students take a stand against him, wanting their war to be one fought with honor.

This is another one of those stories I’m going to have to write out in order to explore further. In any case I’ve been developing the general story for some time as a way of thinking over what constitutes war as a necessary evil and what constitutes terrorism. A complicated issue but one that’s important to consider.

I had names for all these spider characters but I may or may not change them.

 Done in watercolor, colored pencils, ink, and acrylic on mixed media paper. This piece is approximately 9 x 11 inches.