Author | Lightnews

René Campbell

@renecampbellart.bsky.social

370 followers 41 following 24 posts

Marine ecologist (PhD) 🌊 Policy officer (marine biosecurity) ✍️ Visual artist & scientific illustrator 🎨 Crab in disguise 🦀 #SciArt She/her/hers | Kaurna Country (Adelaide) 🇦🇺 www.renecampbellart.com

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René Campbell @renecampbellart.bsky.social · 2d

Thank you 😊

René Campbell @renecampbellart.bsky.social · 2d

Well, the left claw and legs are pretty much done, except for the orange bristles which come later.

Now I just have to paint the claw and legs on the right side, and the carapace, and texture the background, and...🫠

(Don't paint decapods kids. Actually please do).

Acrylic on wood panel

#sciart

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René Campbell @renecampbellart.bsky.social · 4d

I was asked whether I was going to paint any shiny reflections to Mr blue swimmer crab.

You bet.

#sciart 🦀

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René Campbell @renecampbellart.bsky.social · 4d

Thanks so much 😊

René Campbell @renecampbellart.bsky.social · 6d

Standard look of my acrylic Sta-wet palette by the time I end up finishing a handful of paint sessions.

Also no limited palette here - I'm aiming for high chroma with lots of subtle colour variations, which is tricky with acrylic. So using more colours speeds up mixing time

#sciart #crabpainting

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René Campbell @renecampbellart.bsky.social · 12d

How the blue swimmer crab painting looks currently overlaid on top of the lineart from back in 2022

Have to remind myself to keep chipping away when this painting moves at a glacial pace 🦀

Acrylic on wooden panel

#sciart ##acrylicpainting #crab

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René Campbell @renecampbellart.bsky.social · 12d

Thanks so much, your work is fantastic! 🦈

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René Campbell @renecampbellart.bsky.social · 12d

Thank you, will try to be a bit more active here 😊

René Campbell @renecampbellart.bsky.social · 12d

Oh dear, that would not have been pleasant! Back when I was doing research, I had my fair share of rotting crabs in the lab to deal with, so I get it 😅 didn't eat crab for years and still don't really.

René Campbell @renecampbellart.bsky.social · 12d

Thank you!

René Campbell @renecampbellart.bsky.social · 12d

He certainly has been very patient, and so am I while painting him 😂

René Campbell @renecampbellart.bsky.social · 13d

Returning back to my blue swimmer crab acrylic painting after a 22 month hiatus 🦀 forgot all about Blue Sky tbh, life got busy. But hello again!

#sciart #painting #crab

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Reposted by René Campbell

pikaole @pikaole.bsky.social · Nov 9

Ghost crab live on coasts all over the world but population is rapidly decreasing due to coastal development. Small size, but can run at very high speeds.

pikaole @pikaole.bsky.social · Nov 9

🦀Party crab🦀

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René Campbell @renecampbellart.bsky.social · Sep 27

Portunids giving the SASS 👹🦀🔪

René Campbell @renecampbellart.bsky.social · Sep 25

Four different styles I have used to paint my beloved European shore crab (Carcinus maenas). Had the joy of doing my Honours and PhD on these contentious little guys

Digital raster
Digital vector
Pen and ink
Watercolour paint

🦀🐡

A digital illustration of a green European shore crab on a white background

A black and white ink illustration of a European shore crab on a white background

A watercolour illustration of a green European shore crab on a white background

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René Campbell @renecampbellart.bsky.social · Sep 25

Thank you!

René Campbell @renecampbellart.bsky.social · Sep 24

The textures are coming along and I am loving the colours!

I just have to do it all over again when I paint the right arm (called a cheliped btw) 🙃

🦀🐡🎨

A close up of an acrylic painting of a crab's claw, also showing the artists hand with a paintbrush on the painting.

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René Campbell @renecampbellart.bsky.social · Sep 23

What my paint palette looks like right now. Hard to remember which colours go where!

Using acrylic paint with the Masterson Sta-Wet palette

🦀🐡🎨

A photo of a crab painting on panel. There is a paint palette showing many colours the artist is using. The colours include bright blues, purples and pinks.

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René Campbell @renecampbellart.bsky.social · Sep 17

Jo is all over it! There have also been some recent taxonomic reclassifications of Australian and Indo-Pacific Portunus as well but I haven't checked the overall divergence from Callinectes

René Campbell @renecampbellart.bsky.social · Sep 16

Absolutely interested (sorry for me late reply 😅)

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René Campbell @renecampbellart.bsky.social · Sep 16

Hi all, I'm René - artist, marine ecologist & public servant. I'm still learning how to use this app & only post on social media infrequently.

Here is a male blue swimmer crab (Portunus armatus) I have been painting extremely slowly over 1.5 years. A lot more to do!

🐡🦀🎨

An acrylic painting of a blue swimmer crab showing the full body. The painting is on an easel.

An acrylic painting of a blue swimmer crab showing a close-up view of the claw and the painter's hand adding details.

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René Campbell @renecampbellart.bsky.social · Jul 13

Heheh that's more than fine! Half the time I can't even add an accent to my own name anyway, but I appreciate the gesture ☺️

René Campbell @renecampbellart.bsky.social · Jul 13

Thank you Glendon, noted! Glad to see SciArt getting some more spotlight ✨️

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René Campbell @renecampbellart.bsky.social · Jul 13

Thank you for the welcome Franz! 🦀

René Campbell @renecampbellart.bsky.social · Jul 13

Thank you Dani! 🦀