Triptych, 120 × 200 cm «The Frog Catcher». This is a triptych.At the moment, this is the largest painting I have ever completed.Finally, it is finished.The Frog Catcher was inspired by a day at a children’s park with my sons. There was no natural pond there—just a shallow water play area where children could splash and play. Somehow a frog ended up trapped inside. The concrete walls were too high, and it could not get out on its own.All afternoon children tried to catch it. Some wanted to look at it more closely. Others wanted to rescue it and set it free.My middle son, who has loved frogs and insects for as long as I can remember, spent nearly two hours patiently trying to catch it. Eventually he succeeded. In the painting, he is holding the lunch box where he carefully placed his prize.But not everyone appreciated his enthusiasm.For the first time, he encountered the kind of adult aggression that children do not expect. A woman walked over, took the box from his hands without asking, removed the frog, and threw it into the bushes.What stayed with me was not the frog. It was the look on my son’s face.Children are naturally curious. They want to observe, explore, understand, and connect with the world around them. Sometimes adults forget that curiosity is not cruelty. Curiosity is how we learn.The generation before mine often caught frogs and insects to study them. The generation before that sometimes dissected them in school. Today many people see such interest and immediately assume the worst.Yet every scientist, naturalist, inventor, and explorer began as a curious child who wanted to look a little closer.This painting is about that curiosity.About childhood.About the small worlds hidden beneath the surface.And about the importance of letting children discover nature with wonder instead of fear.I hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday.
I wish you kindness, love, childlike curiosity, and the courage to keep exploring the world around you.