Mangrove Snake and Pitcher Plant (2025)
11x14” Acrylic on Panel

This painting pairs the Mangrove Snake (Boiga dendrophila), a mildly venomous, arboreal colubrid, with a Pitcher Plant (Nepenthes sp), a carnivorous plant native to Southeast Asia. Both organisms occupy overlapping lowland rainforest habitats, often in humid, shaded understories. The Boiga hunts small vertebrates—birds, lizards, and amphibians—while Nepenthes supplements poor soil nutrients by trapping insects in its modified leaf pitchers. Though unrelated, both are ambush predators in their own ecological niche. The juxtaposition of the open maws of the plant and the snake’s gaping mouth was an idea that popped into my head and germinated into a fun concept. Thank you @neversvn for the reference photos, and the continual reminder that you needed a Boiga to grace my easel.