Moth sketches

I have been watering a bunch of seemingly dead iris, hoping they will come back. They were caught in a late freeze, and are mostly a bunch of dead leaves. The other day, though, I saw a few green shoots. They may not make it, but there is always hope if you are a gardener.


Anyhow, I startled this moth with the water from my hose. It flew into my nearby hosta plants and stayed put for a while, which allowed me to take a few pictures and sketch it. I am finding that photography is a very useful addition to my sketching method- it allows me to magnify some details of insects. In this case, I magnified the moth's head to add to my sketch.


I have not identified this to genera or species. The family, I think, is Noctuidae. Some of these are plant pests. Although I took entomology courses in college, I am not a moth expert. Butterflies and moths are becoming my new mind-stretching field of exploration, though. More on that in a future post! (If you are an expert, and know a definite id on this one, please let me know!).


This is a typical sketch page for me. I went back to my half-completed field sketchbook, rather than the mixed media paper one I used in the previous post. Some watercolor from a previous page is ghosting through on the left side, but this is more of a problem in the scan than in my book. I tend to work with a small book (5.5"x8.5"), and prefer the hardbound field books. I take a lot of notes with subjects like this. It can be very important to note where you find an insect, and what it is doing. If I am not using color, the color notes become very important. And with this moth, I noted the lighter underwings when it flew to the hosta.


The moth was gone this morning. I had a yard full of robins yesterday (I counted at least 8 at one point, fighting over the birdbath!), and they hopped right by it, so I suspect it flew away after dark.


I'll be announcing a new sketch series next week, so stay tuned!

Studio work

Lots going on in the studio. I am working on my portfolio of natural science illustration. Pulling together years of work into a cohesive portfolio has been fun. Each drawing and painting brings back a host of memories. It's wonderful how much comes back... the smells of a place, the temperature, the sounds. When you draw and sketch outdoors, it cements all these things in your memory, whether you are aware of it or not.

In addition, I'm working on a large acrylic painting of a Polyphemus moth that I found at the base of a tree in my backyard. It's been challenging and fun. As you can see, I just have the basic outline blocked in. The body of the moth is almost done, but I have more shadows to put in. The abstract-looking background is a block-in to be developed later, but I kind of like it the way it is! The black gesso I used covered the canvas incredibly well. It is really making everything stand out.

This is a particular moth, not an illustration of a general one. The wing was torn, so I am leaving that the way it was. The moth was so beautiful. The spots on the wing were see-though silvery.

I've also been playing around with acrylic gouache. I've not tried this product before, and am enjoying it, but as you can see, there is a learning curve.

It's been a satisfying week. In addition, I've been doing some field sketching. Hope to post some of that soon. If it is spring where you live, go outside and draw! You will not regret it. :)