Cacata Egipcia

1990
A Cacata is the Dominican name for a tarantula.
Watercolor on Fabriano paper, framed with a hand painted wood frame.

After I did the Egyptian Beetle, I decided to try with the tarantula. These are beings that were tied to my childhood in every way. My brother Pico and I played with the babies in the egg-hatching season. They were jet black and just beautiful. I woke up many times with a big one walking on me as a child. And, I watched the big ones in the yard. My father and brothers would go out tarantula hunting at nights because they could kill our dogs and of course, bite one of us. I never did because I didn’t want to see them kill such beautiful creatures. They did bite one of our dogs when I was around 15, and we almost lost him. So, I have always been respectful.