Illustration Friday - Swarm

Queen Bee

Ink,  marker and watercolor on mat board
4x6 inches

Wow!  It has been too long since I have participated in Illustration Friday and I am having serious withdrawal.  I may have to commit to another 1 year goal to make sure that I stay motivated to keep it up.  

This is just a quick one this week, but it had me thinking about the zen of being at one with nature.  Nature and I have a love hate relationship.  I consider myself something of a nature girl, but become literally depressed when things don't grow and flourish in the ways I envision.  We have had terrible drought conditions here in Texas for at least four of the six years that we have been back.  I have had very little success at growing anything.  OK, in reality I have a black thumb.  My husband commented on it just yesterday when I was fondling the plants in the garden department at Lowe's.  But despite my general ineptitude with growing things, I have always been happiest outside, breathing in fresh country air.  And I like to think that I will eventually get better at nurturing nature, if I just keep at it.  (And don't forget to water)

I remember being particularly concerned about the state of the natural world a couple of years ago when I heard that bees were disappearing.   Apparently a bee virus was decimating bee colonies, but they seem to be making a comeback.  I am still pretty upset about the fact that I haven't seen a firefly in several years.  No one really knows what has happened there.  But on the positive side, ground dwelling birds have returned to East Texas.  I have been seeing road runners and killdeer again for several seasons now.  Apparently the fire ants are finally finding a balance.  That is the thing about nature, isn't it?  It always finds balance.  How Zen!

Illustration Friday - Renewal

Is It Spring Yet?

watercolor and colored pencil

4" x 6"

A last minute submission this week.  Honestly, I wasn't feeling very inspired by this week's word even though it fits the time of year well.  But with the country currently in the grip of an Arctic chill, visions of spring have been dancing around in my daydreams.  We don't have crocuses here in Texas, but I lived in Wisconsin for about a year and a half, and these brave little flowers amazed me with their determination to bloom right through the snow pack.  Spring was nowhere else in sight, but these bright purple and yellow flowers were right there anyway in the little flower bed in front of my house.  They were truly the first sign that the thaw was beginning and the return of sun and green were around the corner.  A fitting symbol for renewal, I think.

Illustration Friday - Crunchy

Monty Python's Crunchy Frog

colored pencil and gel pen

5.75 x 3.75 inches

OK, I really took it down to the wire this week, but it has been a crazy busy week.  This submission was inspired by a Monty Python scene that I am going to attempt to attach below.  I am not a huge Monty Python fan but I have been known to appreciate quirky British humor when I am so tired that I am no longer thinking straight.  That would be my general state this whole week.  Anyway, I hope you enjoy the illo and the link to the skit.

Crunchy Frog

Not quite what I intended, but the link does work.