Hedychium with Sphinx Moth

This piece is for a colored pencil botanical show at the NC Botanical Gardens in Chapel Hill.

It's a ginger lily (hedychium) with a hummingbird or sphinx month.  Last summer I had several sphinx moths show up and they were really attracted to my ginger lilies.  I'd never had any of these moths in my garden before.  So I "googled" them and came to find out that they are the moth of the common horned tomato worm.

Now I know why I've not seen them around my garden before.  I have (or maybe had might be more appropriate) a colony of parastic wasps.  These are very beneficial insects if you are trying to garden organically.  They lay their eggs on caterpillars, especially tomato worms.  Their larvae then use the tomato worm as an incubator and food source until hatching as wasp.  So I'm not sure how any tomato worms escaped the wasps.  It could have possibly came from someone else's vegetable garden.

This piece is on Magnani pastel paper that's a light blue in color.  This paper is great to work on.  It holds many layers of color.  It has a slight texture, but it was easy to cover.  It's tough too - I used a Vanish eraser to completely remove the leaf on the left.  (Still not happy with it!)   After finishing the piece, I sprayed it with the new Krylon spray for pencil, pastels, and acrylics.  It's clearly labeled that way on the can.  It left a white residue on the piece.  I was able to use my fingers to remove most of it.  It doesn't show on the background.  The spray caused some areas in the piece to separate.  I don't think it dissolved.  It just looked like it moved aside from it, much like oil moves from soap.  I have fixed those areas.  The whole piece is rather flat looking now.

Needless to say, I won't be using the Krylon anymore.  I've never had any problems with the Blair spray for digital photos that I normally use.  It's archival and dries completely clear.  And as it usually the case, I don't have time to redo it.  So it will have to go as is.

Downy Woodpecker

My chapter of the CPSA, DC114 has been asked to provide an art show for the NC Aquariums.  This is our third year and we're pleased that this venture has gone so well.  The Aquarium provides the theme and for this year's show, they have chosen "The Maritime Forest". 

This is a downy woodpecker.  These birds are fairly small, about 7 or 8 inches long.  I took the photo of this bird last winter and he was hanging upside down.

This is a small piece, only 7 by 5 inches.

On a side note, I can't believe that I haven't posted anything since November of last year.  Where does the time go!  Sometimes, I just don't think folks are really interested in the everyday mundane stuff.

 

More Ducks

These ducks are hanging in the Wilmington Art Association Gallery as part of the CPSA DC114 Explorations in Colored Pencil show.  Both are for sale and are $100.00 each.  The show runs through December 31.

Ducky

It just can't be 2 months since my last post.  Time doesn't fly anymore - it's supersonic! 

I have been dealing with tendinitis in my Achilles tendon.  Sometimes I've had to be completely off my feet and at other times limping around with a cane.  So you'd think that being forced to sit would inspire me to do lots of art.  Not so.

Here is my latest.  Part of a series of 4 water birds, this is the canvasback duck.  These are small pieces, about 7 inches by 5 inches and will be available for sale at the Wilmington Art Gallery in December.

Daylily Project

I'm documenting my daylilies.  I have about 30 different varieties planted in several large flower beds.  I've wanted to do this for a while and finally started on it. 

 This is Yazoo Wild Violet. 

Unfortunately, I've don't remember the name of this one.
I will have to look it up.

July! Already!

How it can be July already.  It seems like it was just April last week.

Tomatoes are coming in by the bucket full.  We're eating fresh salsa by the quart.  Or course, that's not so bad.  Green beans will be ready by the end of the week.  My husband's row of purple hull pink eyed peas will be ready by the end of the month.  This is the best part of summer - fresh vegetables from the garden.

My sweet dog, Ozzie has Lyme Disease.  We hope that we've caught it in the early stages.  He's on antibiotics for 30 days or as long as it takes to get it in him.  He's very smart and you can't give him the pills in the same way more than once.   Poor boy has also snapped a tendon in his leg.  He can't have surgery until his Lyme Disease is under control.  Lyme Disease affects how his blood clots and causes joint pain.  I did not know that dogs could contract Lyme Disease, but they can and so can cats.  There is a vaccine available, so have your buddies vaccinated.

Ripples moving out

When you drop a stone in water, it makes ripples and they move out across the body of water. On the other side of the water, they may be so small that you can't see them, but they are there and have made an impact, no matter how small.

So it is Kelly Light's Ripple blog.  Started as a one-person effort to help the Gulf Coast animals, she has raised over $5000.00.  She has done this ten dollars at a time.  Artists are contributing trading card size works. Each is priced at $10.00.  Children are doing works as well as some known artists.

I'm working on my piece and hope to have it ready next week.