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.

Blue bottle fly (Calliphora vomitoria)

Pencil sketch and watercolour, candle wax, on Bockingford 300gsm

Blue Bottle Flies (Calliphora vomitoria) are from the Blow Fly family. They are larger than house flies, growing about half an inch long. Their head and thorax (front and middle sections) are grey, the abdomen (large rear section) is bright metallic blue. They have red eyes and clear wings. Blue Bottle Flies live just about anywhere and the world, including woods, fields, parks, and farms. They seem to prefer shady places.

This fly eats from dead animals or meat, living animals with open wounds, animal poop, or some other decaying matter, so it is not a fly we want in our homes! But living on a farm or a smallholding, where dead animals are sometimes a daily fact of life, this is sometimes unavoidable.

I found this one in my lounge window and after swatting it gently with the fly swat (they don’t squash easily!), I was able to examine it more closely, using my magnifying glass, and do the sketch.

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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