bees – Page 13 – Pencil and Leaf

Drawing Bees

By Val Littlewood October 19, 2009 January 25, 2020 Uncategorized

“I wish to speak of the bees very simply, as one speaks of a subject one knows and loves, to those who know it not. .”
from “The Life of the Bee” by Maurice Maeterlinck.

These small paintings that you will see over the next few weeks will be the result of hours and hours of looking, reading, research and much changing of mind. The quite modest finished thing is truly the tip of a huge iceberg.
I don’t make life easy for myself either, as I seem to be incapable of just copying a photograph, even my own. I need to know about my subject.
Over and above the biological structures and, just as a portrait painter may wish to know the character of the the sitter, I want to know about the character of my bees. .. so I read and look.

I read the scientific descriptions, the lists of body parts with names I will never remember, and I read the poetic and I read the myth, the human responses and the memories.
So in the posts I will try to add some fact and fiction as I go. It will also help me to remember. Some studies will be more successful than others.
In all my time painting and drawing I know one sure fact; you definitely cannot please all the people.

Now I just try to have an aim for myself, try to stick to it and then move on. I am not inclined to be too scientific, so the paintings will my interpretation of the bees, what I see, what I know and what I feel. I am sure there will be some inaccuracies, but that is OK with me.

Representing the Bee I like to look at the possibilities of how bees might be represented. I love the graphic quality of these bumble bee identification charts from the Natural History Museum site, see here.

and another bumble bee set, computer generated from the Xerces Society here

I look at beautiful antique steel engraved prints and old natural history prints;
From the British Library’s Victorian Book Illustration site here ‘Common humble bee’, from The Naturalist’s Library, vol. 38 Entomology, edited by William Jardine

From Glasgow Library here : Moses Harris: An exposition of English insects …
minutely described, arranged, and named, according to the Linnaean system London: 1782

I look at the fabulous work of one of my favourite illustrators, E J Detmold who illustrated “The Life of the Bee” by Maurice Maeterlinck.

Here is his ferocious Queen Bee. He is able to convey character along with technical accuracy. His originals are stunning small watercolours.

Another insect drawing hero of mine is the incomparable Walter Linsenmaier. I have just found a copy of his “Insects of the World”, a 1972 book which, years ago, I used to commandeer from the local Library whenever I needed insect reference.
If I had seen it when I was drawing the blue wasp I would have had no problem with identification.

Here a little digger bee laden with pollen returns to the nest leaving its tell tale trail behind. Below it some pollen collecting mechanisms. Again, he is so much more than purely a scientifically accurate painter.
His insects are alive with character and mystery, while explaining simply and stylishly just how insects work and live.

I am looking at many other, contemporary, artists too, but am particularly impressed by Jesse Huebing-Reitinger’s massive paintings for the fascinating Project Insect here.

They are quite extraordinary. She works from pinned specimens, with a microscope to create these huge images.

This orchid bee is 7.5ft square. Fabulous. Makes me want to run out and buy a big canvas

“Harley” the orchid bee

Here she is painting a huge dragonfly.

Read more about her and the art work for Project Insect here.

My small studies are only 3.5 x 3.5 inches square!

Golden Bees and an Indian Summer at the British Museum

By Val Littlewood October 8, 2009 January 5, 2020 Uncategorized

There hasn’t been much time for the luxury of drawing in the last few weeks. However I have done a little more bee research. Early in August on my first visit to the British Museum I found this fabulous huge golden wreath.

From the British Museum website :

“Gold wreath

Hellenistic, about 350-300 BC
Two cicadas and a bee nestle among the oak-leaves This naturalistic wreath of oak-leaves and acorns is supported on two golden branches that are now reinforced by a modern copper core. At the back the branches end in obliquely cut end-plates, at the front they are held together by a split pin fastener concealed by a golden bee. Each branch bears six sprays with eight leaves and seven or eight acorns, as well as a cicada.”

My photos are not too sharp due to the low light but this is the most beautiful thing. There is no explanation of the symbolism but the bee was already well established by this time in both economy and myth, a representative of royalty in Ancient Egypt and a symbol of immortality. There are also some rather odd little gold bee goddess plaques from seventh century Rhodes probably associated with the worship of Artemis. .. This is a strange creature half bee half woman.. a real Queen bee. I was curious about it, so scribbled a sketch while I was there.

… but go here to Wiki the entry for a very good close up.

Garden and Cosmos The main reason for being at the British Museum was to see the fabulous “ Garden and Cosmos: The Royal Paintings of Jodhpur” exhibition, a feast of exquisite paintings depicting lush gardens, delightful scenes from everyday life, love, the Ramayana and, most beautifully, the abstract concept of the “absolute”. See more here.

My good friend Gill and I spent 3 hours lost in wonder and admiration. It was spiritually uplifting, sometimes funny in its observations of life and so finely executed. A favourite scene of mine depicts a grove of holy men, one of whom is “comforting” two troubled souls.. a merchant and king, who even then I imagine had much to be troubled about, by revealing that the apparent solidity of the world is a mere illusion.

Below, in a detail of a larger painting, elephants frolic in the monsoon rain while death and drama are continuing stage left.

I may well return to all this in another post, it was complex, beautiful and inspirational. I feel some welcome influences may creep into my future work.

Outside in collaboration with Kew Gardens had been planted a small companion Indian Garden.
Here you could find banyan, peepul, lotus, mango , the delightful blue sausage tree and various small shubs and flowers which were being enjoyed by some obliging local bees. A wriggling little English honey bee on Himalayan Cranesbill

Bumble bee on Atriplex Perovskia

A curious footnote.. this wonderful exhibition was part of the “ Indian Summer” season at the British Museum.

I wonder how many of us presume that the phrase “An Indian Summer” meaning a late pleasant spell of weather, came from British Colonial Indian times.. apparently not so, it originated in America.

When is a Blue bee not a Blue bee? When it’s a Cuckoo Wasp.

By Val Littlewood August 9, 2009 January 5, 2020 Uncategorized

Many thanks to Anna at Anna’s Bee World http://buzzybeegirl.wordpress.com/2009/07/. I found her great blog about her bee research after I had posted the drawing. She identified it immediately. If only I had googled “blue metallic “Wasp”” instead of “Bee”.

wonderful photo by D & K Kucharscy from Shutterstock.com
Family Hymenoptera: Chrysididae Scientific name is from Greek, chryso, meaning “gold”, referring to the metallic golden coloration of some species’.

from the excellent site “What’s That Bug” http://www.whatsthatbug.com/

I always assumed wasps are slim waisted and more slender in general than this rather chunky one.
But there is no doubt about it. The pitted surface of the body and its habit of curling itself into a ball, confirm its identity. It has fewer body segments and a concave abdomen which allows it to roll itself up as protection against understandably irate hosts.
They are parasitic…on bees.
Hmmm..would you rather not have known that? But we all have to live. They are also called jewel wasps and come in many wonderful dazzling colours.
Thanks Anna.

Blue wasp.. Title change!

By Val Littlewood August 8, 2009 January 5, 2020 Uncategorized

** I have just changed the title of this post due to people not reading through to the end and telling me I am wrong!

I had thought this was an orchid bee, a little Euglossa, but after some confusing internet research (I found many varieties of green metallic bees but not many blue metallic bees), I think it may be a solitary mason bee, an Osmia.

Or it could be a Sweat Bee, so called because they just love sweaty people. Florida must be sweat bee heaven especially in August. I think the Euglossa bees have much more robust legs than this little metallic bee.
It is tiny and almost curled around in a complete circle. Straightened out it can’t be much more than half an inch.

I did not, of course, attempt to draw it so small but a nice big 3 inches so that I had a fighting chance of some detail. The glittering iridescent armour plating is pitted, with, I presume, hair follicles. It shimmers like petrol, purple through blue to green. But the middle section is definitely more green than the tail.
The wings are a dark browny colour. Here is the study with the tiny bee top right.

If my drawing is good enough for a positive ID on this bee, I would be interested to know what it really is.

Here is the study .. it’s not quite finished but I have run out of time. I don’t think I have tried to paint iridescence before, but surely must have tried a peacock’s feather at some point in my life.

Anyway I feel that a better medium would be oils for this. The watercolours are a bit dull.. but then nothing can really match the brilliance of nature’s colours. These are stunningly beautiful little creatures

There is an interesting article here http://www.greatsunflower.org/en/osmia-leaf-cutter-bees about these Osmia bees. The description, especially the lack of conspicuous bands of hair, seems to be right.

**** update, I emailed Anna at Anna’s Bee World who put me right.. this is a blue Chrysididae wasp see next post …

Number 2 Bee

By Val Littlewood August 6, 2009 January 5, 2020 Uncategorized

After some more research and finding both helpful, unhelpful and plainly inaccurate diagrams of bees and their anatomy, I put together my own rough sketch. Drawing definitely helps me to remember things.
With a little more understanding I was able to make more sense of the tangle of legs and the curled bodies, which are difficult to analyze without a microscope. I have learnt some curious things too.

Bees have 5 eyes… lucky things, 2 compound eyes and 3 extra small ones on top of their head called ocelli. They also have hairy tongues, in fact their mouths are incredibly complicated and multifunctional. As I am drinking my tea I am trying to make some comparisons. I think we humans have been sold short.

So I have painted another of Joe’s bees, this one much darker than the one I drew in pencil. I am amazed at the variety of colours and furriness.
I have tried not to get involved with my models, after all, these are dead bees, but having to look so closely, trying to understand how they are put together, I have inevitably become fond of them.
To see them so small and helpless, some with their little tongues out, to hold their weightless tiny papery bodies while trying to unravel some of their mysteries, is to get involved.
I was OK until I drew the eye.. but as soon as you draw an eye on something it has a personality. I am trying not to give this one a name. How very beautiful and delicate it is…
I do have 9 more and tomorrow I might try the euglossa bee… but there again I might not… it looks difficult.

Joe’s Bees

By Val Littlewood August 4, 2009 January 5, 2020 Uncategorized

Yesterday we had the pleasure of a brief visit with Joe who is a local beekeeper and who runs Dansk Farms here in Orlando.

For the last few weeks I have been doing some background research into honey bees and wanted a bee to draw. I returned with 9 honey bees and one beautiful irridescent orchid bee which Joe had found for me, all carefully packed for the short trip in their own neat little crate. It’s actually a queen bee transporter, roomy enough for a diminutive royal and normally well equipped with candy.

My little bees were not, I hasten to add, alive.

I had met Joe a couple of weeks ago at the Winter Park Farmer’s Market, where he sells not only the 100% pure honey, but bees wax, and lovely honey based bath and body products.
It was completely fascinating to see the workings of one of the hives which at 9.00 am was busy. Joe’s particular bees are gentle and goodnatured, a cross between Buckfasts and Carniolans and so a mixture of dark and lighter coloured bees.

Their joint characteristics make them good all round bees, docile, disease resistant, good producers and good housekeepers. (The story of Brother Adam and the Buckfast bee needs another dedicated post). There is so much to know and admire about bees and I am just at the beginning.

I had not realised that the honey bee was not a native species in the USA. The bees that Joe keeps, as with most of honey bees in the USA, are descended from the European Honey bee, Apis Mellifera.

Bees were probably introduced into Florida by the Spanish but the first documented arrival of bees from Europe is from a letter dated December 5, 1621 by the Council of the Virginia Company in London and addressed to the Governor and Council in Virginia. It was a motley cargo.

“Wee haue by this Shipp and the Discouerie sent you diurs [divers] sortes of seedes, and fruit trees, as also Pidgeons, Connies, Peacockes Maistiues [Mastiffs], and Beehives, as you shall by the invoice pceiue [perceive]; the preservation & encrease whereof we respond vnto you…” (Goodwin 1956; Kingsbury 1906:532).

The Discovery (60 tons, Thomas Jones, captain, and twenty persons) left England November 1621 and arrived in Virginia March 1622. from “Honey Bees Across America” By Brenda Kellar

And the name ..

The genus Apis is Latin for “bee”, and mellifera comes from Latin melli- “honey” and ferre “to bear” — hence the scientific name means “honey-bearing bee”. The name was coined in 1758 by Carolus Linnaeus who, realizing that the bees do not bear honey, but nectar, tried later to correct it to Apis mellifica (“honey-making bee”) in a subsequent publication. However, according to the rules of synonymy in zoological nomenclature, the older name has precedence. Wikipedia

I have never looked in such detail at a honey bee before. These little bees are a variety of colours and delightfully hairy, even the eyes are hairy. I am sad they are dead but the practicalities of trying to draw live bees in such detail would try the patience of even Joe’s docile bees.

I am hoping to make a good detailed painting but before I do I need to understand a bit more about their anatomy. For now, some studies. My models and sketchpad

Bumble Bee and Ginkgo

By Val Littlewood July 27, 2009 January 5, 2020 Uncategorized

This double intaglio was only partially successful as we had problems with the soft ground which was used to prepare the ginkgo leaf plate. The ease of making the ginkgo image (you “just” run a leaf through the press on a soft grounded plate) was counteracted by the soft ground coming away on the wax paper, the leaf crumbling and sticking to the plate. Hmmm.

My admiration for etchers grows and grows. One slip of the etching tool, one second too long in the acid, one tiny mistake with the soft or hard ground and you have wasted materials and hour or more of time and expectation.
But the proof turned out better than I had thought. I am beginning to get more of a feel for the inking, but as David, our tutor of 35 years of etching experience, says, every plate has its own character.

Here is a sample of his work. His dark tones are wonderful, and to achieve this I know takes much plate reworking and very expert printing. The internet image does not do it justice at all.

“Flight Line“ 3’’ x 9.5”

See more on his website at http://www.hunterprintmaking.com/artwork.html

Etching has a beautiful, mysterious feel to it. Something of the antique. They are quiet contemplative things which require an intimate encounter.
They don’t reward the casual glance or give the instant colour thrill of a screenprint. At their best they contain depth,detail and atmosphere. They reward people who enjoy the quality of marks for their own sake and who love the atmospheric.
But I am almost done with etching. The short course will finish next week and without a press, acid and, most of all, space. I won’t be doing any more for the time being.

That’s one of the drawbacks of etching.. its not quite so easy as a few brushes some paints and some paper, and I am still trying to achieve the illusive non smudged, perfect print.

Bee and Ginkgo Plate

I was using some watercolour paper for this proof.. too thin really, as the print has buckled a little .. yet another variable and pitfall waiting for the would be etcher.

Sunflower and Moon Bees…Trials and Errors.

By Val Littlewood July 21, 2009 January 5, 2020 Uncategorized

Having done one bee I decided to try some backgrounds to accompany it. I have always liked combining images and mixing things up so it’s a mix and match bee set. This etching is all a bit hit and miss, every print is a complete surprise… i.e. I have no control! It’s very easy to over or under-ink the plate and every print is different.

I know the master etchers try to achieve a series of prints which are as identical as they possibly can be, but at the moment part of the fun is not knowing exactly what will be revealed.
I first did a quick vine (with, of course, a few pods…) to see how the technique of overprinting, correctly called double intaglio I think, would work..
Basically you have two plates and one piece of paper, and print the paper twice. Just getting the registration right is tricky, but the tutor has a very neat registration system cut out of an old “For Sale” sign. I will try to get some photos tonight. so.. “Bumblebee and Vines”..3 different papers.

Then, I had read how much bumble bees like sunflowers, so, “Bumblebee with Sunflower” printed on different papers with slightly different coloured inks.. and different levels of success!

And, of course, I had then to have a moonflower bee as a companion… “ Bumblebee and Moonflowers ” again different papers, different inking and different results.

My aim this week is to try to get a few really nicely printed which will be for sale in my new Etsy shop.. “Waving Bee Press” coming very soon, plus a blog too..
Why Waving Bee Press? .. well a longish story but part of a project I have been developing for a few weeks now, which looks like growing into an exhibition, prints cards and some handmade books..it’s so exciting!! The sort of project I love, lots of research, lots of ideas and an end product. More of this later..

As part of the work I have had to learn Adobe Illustrator from scratch.. phew… vectors…The problem is that switching now between Photoshop and Illustrator has me even more confused.
It’s all to do with digital letterpress, which is whole new box of soldiers to play with.!… Heaven !

Bee Etching

By Val Littlewood July 16, 2009 January 5, 2020 Uncategorized

Inspired by my good friend Dy in the UK , I have been learning something about etching over the last few weeks.
Not much, but enough to realise how very tricky, time consuming and complicated it is. Dare I say I have barely begun to scratch the surface..:)

It seems a deceptively simple process. Coat a small zinc plate with some hard ground, (a combination of asphaltum, beeswax and rosin) scratch through this waxy surface with a pointed tool, immerse in weak acid, (which etches into the plate where the surface has been revealed) ink up and print.. easy!

What makes it so difficult are the mind numbing variety of options you have, starting with the different types of plates and grounds, the time in the acid, the inking up, the paper, the pressure on the press and combinations of all of those… however, I am giving it a go.

My little bumble bee seemed a natural subject so here is my first small bee print.

Plate and first print in burnt umber on Strathmore, plate size 6” x 4”

First print…

Second print, on a laid cream Rives BFK paper. It seems that etchings are very difficult to scan, the computer just wants to merge all the fine lines together in a jumble of pixels , so here is a closer detail of the bee, which is about 2 inches from top to toe.

I am amazed at the sensitivity of the process.
The tiniest lines with only a short exposure to acid will give the finest results if correctly inked etc. ……..but so much to learn and so many pitfalls along the way as I am learning!

Bombus:Humble, Bumble and Bees

By Val Littlewood July 13, 2009 January 5, 2020 Uncategorized

When last home I was exploring the old potting shed in my father’s garden. It has lain largely undisturbed, for years, wreathed in hanging spiders webs.

“Exploring” is not really the correct word, as all I do is go in, find the spade, hoe, fork etc I need and hastily retreat before being overcome by my spidery fears. However on a window sill I did see a little dead Bumble Bee. Bees are about the limit of my “dead thing” collecting and I do like to draw them so I put it in a small box and it came back to the USA with me.

I found it again while unpacking, it was a bit worse for wear but OK for a study or two. This I think is Bombus terrestris, the buff-tailed bumblebee or large earth bumblebee. I liked this definition from Collins Discovery.
“Bumblebee: any large hairy social bee of the genus Bombus”

Large, hairy and completely delightful. Much loved but endangered, see the Bumble Bee Conservation Trust for what you can do to help.
Called Humble Bees too, not as I thought for the bowing, inclined aspect of their head but because of the noise they make. R W Emerson wrote a rather odd early poem in praise of the Humblebee, here is a snippet.

Insect lover of the sun,
Joy of thy dominion!
Sailor of the atmosphere;
Swimmer through the waves of air;
Voyager of light and noon;
Epicurean of June;

Regarding sailing and swimming, the aerodynamics of the bumble bee have been called into question, but as successful business woman Mary Kay Ash said;

“Aerodynamically, the bumble bee shouldn’t be able to fly, but the bumble bee doesn’t know it so it goes on flying anyway.” ..

a good motivational quote for a Monday. You can read about this incorrect theory and perhaps how it came about at

http://ilovebacteria.com/bee.htm.

And see a lovely slow motion, in flight, bumble bee doing very nicely, here on YouTube.I made these sketches a couple of weeks ago just before starting the printmaking course. This coming week, the bee in print and much more about bees in general.
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Bumblebees:

Tag: bees