Leptodactylous Acrylic on Text on Canvas, 6″ x 6″

Acrylic painting by Leah Palmer Preiss depicting an aye-aye playing the piano amid tropical foliage

Today’s word is almost as long as an aye-aye’s fingers. I’m not sure you could describe it as slender though. (Are there slender words? That’s a topic worth pondering.)

In any case, aye-aye fingers are long, slender, & dextrous, & the lemur relatives’ impressive hand spans would probably give them quite an advantage at the keyboard, though most piano teachers would suggest a shorter manicure. More importantly, they are natural percussionists, with highly sensitive touch & hearing. So it is only slightly insane to imagine them tickling the ivory.

Prints of this painting, along with the original while it lasts, are available in my Etsy shop, Curious Art Lab.

2 thoughts on “Leptodactylous Acrylic on Text on Canvas, 6″ x 6″

  1. Erica Mueller

    I HAD to order Leptodactylous. Though you might not be aware of the late neurologist and writer, Oliver Sacks, among his passions were lemurs, ferns, and playing classical piano music. His vast vocabulary was partly due to a collection of antique dictionaries. I remain a devotee of his work, and find the convergence of those interests here to be almost eerie! The Robin Williams/Robert deNiro film, Awakenings, was based upon his book, with the former’s role based on Dr. Sacks.

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    1. Leah Post author

      Well this is eerie! I have had read many of his books & would consider myself quite a fan, but I had not until seeing your comment made the connection between his interests & this painting! I wouldn’t be at all surprised, though, if my subconscious mind was weaving those threads entirely unbeknownst to me– I often have no idea where my ideas are coming from. I’m certainly delighted that the painting made you think of Sacks, & thank you so much for letting me know & for becoming a Patron of the Curious Arts!

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