Garden Inspired Art

 

Growing a garden for food and for viewing pleasure is only part of what gardens offer. I like keeping a camera close for the opportunity to capture moments for garden-inspired art. The Two Spotted (Bombus Bimaculatus) bumblebee comes to work daily on the chives & Egyptian Walking Onion Flowers!

Close-up of Bumblebee & Chives

 (watercolor, gouache, watercolor pencil, white & gold ink pen.

For several days I wanted to photograph and video one very large hairy bumblebee. The chive flowers seem to be a big draw for the hard-working bumblebee. 

Watch my Two Spotted Bumble Bee busy in the garden video here: 

https://youtu.be/nJhQYiQjUds

Two Spotted Bumblebee & Chives

watercolor paper 12" x 18"

watercolor, watercolor pencils, gouache, white & gold pen

Creating art from my own experiences invites discovery with visual intentions but also educates me on what is the background of the subject. 

Honeybees and bumblebees are two different bees with their own skills and physical attributes. Honeybees are often mistaken for wasps and also build hives. Honeybees are the abundant producer of the delicious honey that is meant to keep the bee tribe alive during winter but we rob the hard workers of their stash whereas the bumblebee only stores enough for the Queen bee because the rest of the tribe dies over the winter. 

Bumblebees can sting you more than once without dying but are usually focused on efficiently doing their jobs as the best pollinators. They live mostly in nests underground and are much larger than honeybees and very hairy. They have the ability to focus on one flower getting all the pollen deep into the flowers and score on the treasured nectar that no one else can get to.  

I maintain wildflowers and grasses while also intentionally growing flowers in my gardens to feed mother nature's creatures while giving me some organic produce and creative pleasures. 

Read more about my Rock-n-Zen Gardens.

BEE KIND GROW FLOWERS for the 250 types of bumblebees as they are struggling for survival and many are now extinct. Our food supply depends on them for the lion's share of pollinating nature. 

To read more about the variety of bumblebees and diagrams to identify your bumblebees.

More art inspired bugs & Diptych Sunflower link here to view

• Cryptic bumblebee • Bombus cryptarum