This drawing illustrates the Monarch butterfly in the eclosure process from the back view. It is illustrated in a poster type format with large titles and dates of the event to humorously refer to the insect transformation as a “show” that took place. In a sense it was. The drawing reads from left to right within a horizontal format with time increments noted between portrayals of eclosure activity. The time increments are comprised of vertical spaces labeled as weeks, hours, minutes and seconds. They are placed in between drawn boxes housing individual drawings of Monarch chrysalids in progressing stages of eclosure development.

Presently, the Monarch is the focus of many conservation efforts to increase its declining population. It has become a cultural icon to many people symbolizing wildlife species declining in numbers and needing safeguarding. My desire in depicting the beauty of its chrysalis colors and birth process emerging out of the chrysalis is to increase viewers’ aesthetic appreciation of this remarkable migrating insect and possibly initiate a viewer’s conservation effort.

This art work portraying a frontal view of a Monarch enclosure was intended to become an accompanying drawing to the depiction of the back view of a Monarch eclosure forming a diptych. Subsequently I changed my mind midway through the drawing and I have posted each separately. Many detail differences exist between the back and frontal view drawings for visual and expressive purposes. The most unique compositional aspect rests in the applied differences to express the overall concept of each drawing.

Drawn boxes house the chrysalid illustrations in both the back and frontal views. The boxes' width are portrayed inversely from beginning to end within the two drawings. Boxes begin wide in width in the depiction of the back view drawing to illustrate low activity levels and gradually increase into more narrow widths to indicate increasing activity levels of the butterfly. The compositional result is an end grouping showing slightly overlapping action depictions of a Monarch butterfly falling from its chrysalis and suggesting a flurry of activity.

In contrast, boxes begin narrow in width in the frontal view to correlate with less activity and gradually increase in width to indicate higher activity levels of the event. The compositional arrangement in the frontal view depicts positions of a Monarch butterfly falling from its chrysalis in a linear placement with depicted activity positions placed close together. The frontal view composition concept is an inquiry into the numerous individual butterfly positions as the butterfly falls out of its chrysalis in contrast to the concept of a sequence end of grouped activities as in the back view. 

My plant and pollinator series of drawings are composed of complex story telling compositions. Nature is in a perpetual frame of movement and change. In my drawings, I portray a complete plant life cycle transition from emergence through to full flower and finally to seed development in a composition of time sequenced seasonal changes. My drawings are arranged into a illustrated collage of patterns and shapes and illustrate different phases of the plant’s development with depictions of insects that visit or inhabit the plant during specific growth formations. Most of these insects act as pollinators during the flowering stage.

I suggest a native plant’s natural untamed habitat in my plant life drawings as well. To some, these undomesticated areas may seem untamed and “messy”. Yet I love the natural terrains as they have conservational attributes in creating habitat, water buffers and other beneficial aspects to both wildlife and humans. They are also aesthetically appealing to me in their variation of colors, textures and shapes forming interesting patterns. In my drawings, I draw reference from them and depict patterns of leaves, stems and flowers blending into one another and portray shapes overlapping each other in transparent colors to suggest the “messiness’ of natural plant arrangement. A plant's habitat is reflected in my seemingly random use of line and placement of shape, pattern and color to comprise a repetition of condensed details. My intention is not to make viewers feel claustrophobic when viewing my work, but rather have them delight in the details presented in my art based on natural, disappearing growing areas. 

In addition, my drawings frequently include a separate rectangular area located at the bottom of the composition I refer to as a “visual footnote". The "visual footnote" contains illustrated details of unique reproductive or visual attributes of the plant subject or something interesting about the pollinators such as their use of the depicted plant.

The drawing paper I used for these drawings is a beige color and it gives the drawings a warm undertone.

I take photographs of butterflies I have raised from eggs both as a conservation endeavor and as research for my drawings. The eggs are collected from my garden. The featured photos were taken during the summer and fall of 2019. Raising and photographing butterflies has resulted into an unexpected photo portfolio project full of enjoyment and discovery. Each butterfly quickly develops its own procedure to allow its wings to lengthen and dry resulting in photo shoots that are unique and fascinating to watch and document. It is also rewarding to know that I am helping to populate the world with beautiful butterflies many which are proficient pollinators. In the future, I plan and look forward to researching and raising other butterfly species to photograph their development and eclosure processes as well.

Butterfly chrysalids are varied in shape and butterflies exit them differently. Some butterflies slowly climb out of a horizontal or vertical chrysalis while others, like the Monarch, are more visually dramatic and fall straight out the bottom clutching the chrysalis as they emerge. The varied techniques are one reason eclosure is so interesting to photograph.

I use a Nikon close up 200 mm lens to take my butterfly photographs. I shoot using white backgrounds that contrast with the shapes, colors and movements of the butterfly to enhance those visual elements. The photographs are frequently taken during very early morning hours many times before daylight.

Cute, humorous, ugly or beautiful these proficient or less significant pollinators add a personality to my photographs. I can’t imagine enjoying a natural or garden area without their presence, not only for the necessary process of pollination, but also for the interesting appearances and behaviors they display. Outdoors when their behaviors of agility or hunting techniques can be observed, they become a living testament to how truly diverse and intriguing nature’s pollinators really are.