Summer is a great time for dragonflies, damselflies and painting! In my opinion insects really lend themselves well to the small 5×7-inch format. A few years ago I had a lot of fun painting several Odes, the nickname for Odonata, which is the … Continued
I’m a big fan of dragonflies. To draw them, I take tons of photos for reference. I also have some dead ones that I use for reference on tiny details like wing venation. I typically use a 200-400mm lens with … Continued
Calico Pennants are beautiful dragonflies. Their spots vary in color from yellow to bright red depending on age and gender. Adult males have red, heart-shaped spots on their abdomens. Original painting is available here. Prints are available here.
These are pretty common dragonflies, but they are simply spectacular. Their eyes alone seem to have at least seven or eight colors on them! Those beautiful eyes, striped body and transparent wings made for a fun painting to work on. … Continued
The warm weather has finally arrived in Michigan. That means that the damselfly and dragonfly season is finally here! Unfortunately we are also up to our armpits in mosquitoes. Speaking of unwanted arthropods,we are being overrun by ticks. Up until … Continued
Another step-by-step through the creation of a Dot-tailed Whiteface dragonfly in transparent watercolor. Original painting is available here. Prints are available here.
Another cooperative dragonfly from the ponds at the MSU gardens.
Its hard for me to get enough of these beautiful and fascinating insects. This cooperative male was posing at the fabulous gardens at Michigan State University. They are pretty “hard-wired” and will return to a favorite perch repeatedly to hunt. I could sit … Continued
These might be common dragonflies, but they are exceptionally cool!
