Dragonfly – Acrylic/Ink in a small Watercolour Moleskine
Continuing with different transparent background washes of acrylic paint.
There are many different types of dragonflies in the UK. Related to these are the Damselflies,Mayflies, Stoneflies and Lacewings. Insects, such as Lacewings are to be encouraged in the garden as they feed on many different types of aphids. Insect boxes or insect refuges made from piles of drinking straws, are a good way to allow them to overwinter in out of the way corners. The drawing shown is a “Hawker” which gets its name from its habit of hovering, like a hawk, about a specific piece of territory. This one is a “Blue Aeshna” which has a wingspan of just over three inches and is only found in Scotland. They, typically, live near stretches of water – there are many, at this time of year near Linlithgow Loch next to the palace where Mary Queen of Scots was born. I wonder if she marvelled at the beauty of these alarming looking, but completely harmless creatures? The biggest UK dragonfly is the “Emperor” whose wings span over four inches. They are fascinating things to watch and can startle the unwary with the noise from their four wings.
Crooked Beak 9:21 am on May 30, 2010 | #
Bravo! Well done, Bob.
Can you imagine, during the Jurassic some species of dragonfly had wing spans of 30-inches (76cm).
Best wishes, D.
Arqetancourt 9:25 am on May 30, 2010 | #
Es un gran dibujo, puede sentirse la delicadeza del material de las alas, el sonido de su vuelo y la vibracion de su cuerpo como cuando me encontraba con ellas en mi infancia.
Ese amarillo del fondo le da mucha vida al personaje, felicidades Bob
It is a great drawing, one can feel the sensitivity of the material of the wings, the sound of his flight and the vibration of his body like when I was meeting them in my infancy.
This yellow one of the bottom gives many life to the personage, congratulations Bob
Uncle Bob 1:10 pm on May 30, 2010 | #
Thanks “D”. Imagine – 30″ wingspan. Actually unimaginable. Would be fascinating to visit that period to see these things – in a protective suit of course.
Uncle Bob 1:13 pm on May 30, 2010 | #
Me alegro de que así, Argetancourt. Bien que esto ha traído algunos recuerdos para usted.
Glad you like this, Argetancourt. Good that this has brought back some memories for you.
roseindigo 3:17 pm on May 30, 2010 | #
This is gorgeous Uncle Bob. See how beautiful they are? We will make a bug lover out of you yet!
Joseph R Tomlinson 8:35 pm on May 30, 2010 | #
excellent little bugger! i may have to draw another bug again… maybe
Uncle Bob 12:23 pm on May 31, 2010 | #
Ah Rose. Some insects are nice while others scare me to bits. This is one of the nice ones. The one I hate most, in Scotland, is the Horsefly – known here as a “Clegg”. I am allergic to its bite and have to steer clear of the things. Fortunately they only inhabit areas where dirty conditions are – such as near cow manure so its easy to keep clear. The worst looking is the Wood Hornet which is about 1.5″ long. They are docile beasties and rarely sting but can cause panic if they fly, noisily into crowds. They are nothing like the infamous Japanese Hornets who can sting people to death. Strangely, our most feared insect is the Midge http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usfeatures/midges/
These dust like two winged flies can cause misery to folks at certain times of the year and its reckoned they cost the economy dearly. I once took up pipe smoking, for a week, to try to get rid of the things when on a camping holiday. I like looking at bugs but they seem to like me a lot more. Goodness knows how I would get on in your country with the different spiders and insects I have seen.
Uncle Bob 12:29 pm on May 31, 2010 | #
Had to laugh at your description. This means something different here in Scotland, Joe. Please draw some more of your bugs. I submitted this after looking at Crooked
Beak’s post on insects. They are absolutely fantastic.