Insect Art - Painted Stick

On our trip to Otter Lake this summer, we found a stick which had insect tunnels all over it (under the bark, which had peeled off).  I brought it home, intending to paint it in contrasting colours to bring out the funky patterns the insects had carved.  I finally found the time this past week.  I think it turned out pretty neat.

I originally planned to paint in red (for the tunnels), and finish in contrasting black, but as I started painting the red, I came up with the idea of painting in red and yellow stripes, evocative of a poisonous snake, which the shape of the stick suggested.  So that's what I did, making sure to get deep into all the tunnels:

However, at this point, the tunnels were not very evident:

Until the black was painted on (brushing a light coat of black using the side or heel of the brush, so as to avoid filling the tunnels):

I am pleased with the final results, although I am not sure where to display it.  For now, I have it sitting beside a large wooden eagle head carving and stone salmon carving, both of which we bought from real (successful) artists.  So there is a sort of loosely west coast nature theme to it, even if it doesn't look like any of our local snakes.

If I get any compliments, I'll give most of the credit to the insects, for creating their patterns in the first place.  All I did was recognize and highlight it for them, so their artwork would be enjoyed.