Butterflies were out in force yesterday, along with spiders, ants, stinkbugs, and unfortunately, gnats. The irritants stayed away as long as the gentle breeze blew in my face. As soon as it stopped the gnats attacked. The first time I sat to draw the Green & Gold growing in with ferns on a north bank next to Meetinghouse Creek, the gnats were so bad I had to pack my bag and run uphill to find a breeze. Whew! There I picked out a Dewberry bloom to draw. Then moved to a Lyre-leaved Sage, but Duke came and sat on it. I found another, drawing until the breeze died again and gnats came back. I jumped up, and headed home only to find I could not pass the Green & Gold without drawing it, no matter what. Luck was on my side. After I sat to draw, a breeze came. Bugs came to visit and crawled across my page, along stems and in leaf-litter. Tufted Titmice started calling nearby, chiva! chiva! chiva! and a twelve-spotted Dragonfly buzzed me.
Other flowers blooming: Blue Star, Cinquefoil, Bluets, Toadflax, Yellow Wood Sorrell. Butterflies I saw" Zebra Swallowtail, Black Swallowtail, Red-Spotted Purple, Spring Azure, Painted Lady, and Juvenal's Duskywing. Baby oaks are leafing out along the edge of the woods.
Toadflax
Baby oak leaves
A nice shot of Daisy
Duke sitting in the flowers
2 comments:
I love your drawings but am wondering what media you use for color. Pens? watercolor?
Dear Botanicals, Sorry it's taken me so long to reply. I use PIGMA Micron pens of various sizes, but mostly the 005. For color I use Winsor & Newton Artists' Water Color from the tubes. Keep in mind that your journal paper needs to be heavy enough to not wrinkle when the watercolor is applied. My journal is by Canson - it's called "Montval Field Watercolor Book" and contains Acid Free 140lb Cold Press watercolor paper. Hope this helps! Let me know. :-)
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