The Dragonfly and the Daisy

 Black ink sketch on Bockingford

After spending several years under water in fresh water, the Naiad (Dragonfly larvae, about 2cm in length) emerges, crawling up a plant stalk, usually at night, as a fully grown Dragonfly (order Odonata). They may be on the wing for just a few days or weeks and are fast, agile fliers, sometimes migrating across oceans, and are often found near water. I’ve watched them emerging from my wildlife pond many a time and am always amazed at the beauty that comes from such a voracious (and ugly!) little predator, capable of catching small fish twice their size.

Botanical - Bee in Nature

To 'bee' in nature is to experience one of our planet's most awesome gifts. Spring makes its own statement, so loud and clear that the gardener seems to be only one of the instruments, not the composer.


My sketch for today...


"Bee In Daisy" a (not so quick) quick pencil sketch and watercolour done from a photograph by Crista from 'Nature As Is' on Daler-Rowney 190gsm - Maree©

This lovely photograph by Christa inspired me to sketch this and at first I thought the bee was going to be the difficult part, but the daisy just would not conform to the way I wanted it to go! Just goes to show...

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Botanical - Butterfly

Botanical - "Monarch Butterfly" (Danaus plexippus)

Another watercolour done from a photograph taken by Crista of NATURE AS IS, a wonderfully accomplished photographer (even though she insists she's still learning!) whose works portray excellent clarity and composition.

I'm going to try and do a whole range of botanicals of insects and plants and see how they turn out.

In the USA, the Monarch Butterfly undertakes a massive migration of 2,000 miles from Canada to 200 miles South of Mexico, where they over-winter before their return to their North American breeding grounds.

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