Illustration Friday: INSECT

acrylic on paper

The bumblebee is a flying insect of the genus Bombus in the family Apidae. Like the common honeybee, of which it is a relative, the bumblebee feeds on nectar and gathers pollen to feed its young. These creatures are beneficial to humans and the plant world alike, and tend to be larger than other members of the bee family. Most, but not all, bumblebee species are gentle. From this comes their original name: "Humblebee".

And here is definition that I like the best: robust hairy social bee of temperate regions.
Previously created insects: Illustration Friday SMALL

May we suggest?
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, The Flight of the Bumblebee – to listen
Maurice Maeterlink, The Life of the Bee (La Vie des Abeilles) – to read
Bee Movie – to look forward to (2007)

Enjoy responsibly – aggravating bees causes stings! Lily.

Friendly Banter:

I have spent really nice evening of girl time with Lucy – just returned, loaded with shopping bags and good cheer… stuffed to the rafters with dinner as well. Good God, it is almost a rhyme, better quit while I am ahead.
Here is what we have decided on this shopping expedition – we have officially graduated to huntress status. We use to be gatherers, just shopping for the joy of it, and to participate in most American way of exchanging our hard earned money for goods we really don’t need. Now we have a goal and we have a plan, and if “it” is not available, we just go to where “it” may be found, get it and go and have a nice dinner… No mindless pursuit of touching and exclaiming. Go, get it, then go home, or whenever, just go on with the rest of your life. Ha! We also have to reluctantly agree that we got a little more conservative in our choice of couture… or maybe we just started out conservative in clothes choices, then things changed around and we did not. Lily is still wearing jeans and t-shirts just about every day, just about the same style and cut of t-shirts and jeans…is it so bad? It use to be that Lily was all in black, head to toe, and we called it occupational hazard, he-he… Now we both got our own colors that we like…
We still have our foibles… like shoes and corsets.
My joy of this shopping spree came from Barnes and Noble and a whole new stash of Moleskine journals, the blank kind, where you can decorate your covers, and they are fairly thin, so you don’t get into anxiety attack over the fact that you have to start. Even before you know, it is all written, and you can’t wait to reach for another…
So, I am going to go and decorate and play. I did an art project today, for a gift, and it turned out really nice, but I have to re-do it all the same – wrong paper… good paper actually to do cut outs, but wrong color. I was hoping to have a scan by now and have it posted for record, but it is a no-go. I am also in need to go and draw or paint something glum…Just too much cute for one week. We all have standards, mine is to limit cute intake or production, and I am already on overload… So, no pictures, no news, no interesting observations, no meaningful discussions, just friendly banter. Lily.

Illustration Friday: TEA

Illustration Friday: SONG

No one will ever believe me, but I had serious troubles with this week’s IF topic – I just ran in small and large circles wrangling with an idea… I am exhausted.It started with first thing that popped into my head – valkyries song from Wagner. So, I was going to re-create most astounding experience of girls in helmets on trampolines. Where did I ever experience that? Well, I was lucky to see Die Walkure few years back at the Chicago Lyric Opera… If sitting through five hours of Wagnerian opera is lucky, though it can be argued that it is just this side of masochistic. Anyway, for the flight of the valkyries, they did whole bunch of girls in horned helmets and flying capes jumping across the stage background over the trampolines for the whole duration of that piece! When it happened, the whole audience was speechless, and then everyone started laughing and broke into spontaneous applause. It was great! Years later I am still giggling at the image in my head. So, first thought was – valkyries, girls on the trampolines, helmets, and song of the battle. Then, after various renditions and trips to the trash bin, here I was, all dejected. And so I just give up, grubbed my trusty acrylics and ink pens, and here we are. Sorry for all, no valkyries drawings, but I hope I was able to impart this image verbally just as well. Consider it my conceptual verbal illustration contribution of the week. Lily.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Notes on Simple:

I just have enough time to indulge in random rambling and then run to my oh-so-boring accounting class… I am asking myself what have possessed me? Never mind, before I started whining.
Just saw Carla’s comment on books. YES! Both Lucy and I are dedicated Outlander readers, though I am impatient one – waiting for the paperback, when there is on at the library? Never! Though I managed to damage my back holding the latest volume of Outlander. Book weight a ton, and I had a kink for a while in my right shoulder… It was worth it! I will wait for paperback to add to my library…
So many books!
My War and Peace reading, though, have not progressed… Book is still looking at me; I pet it in passing, and make promises that I will eventually finish it.
IF “Simple” made me think about project I started about three years or so ago – I decided to actively simplify my life. Everyone and me– from what I understand half of this country went into same frenzy! It was multi step layered processes – I just could not overhaul everything in one setting. I really had a hard time of letting go of my stuff. I am divested of so much at this point that sometimes it is freaky… but mostly happy. And still there is stuff that could be hauled away. And then you get to the point when your family watches in horror – they are afraid that by the time you are done, there will be maybe a pillow on a floor and a bowl for food… Well, I didn’t go that far.
What happened with all this frantic simplifying – I was able to concentrate on things I like, and redefine what was important to me. Family and friends are important, traveling is important, having time to do what I love to do is important. I still love stuff – I am such a freak when it comes to beautiful things, but all the stuff doesn’t define me.
Simple is good. Less is more.Lily.

Illustration Friday: SIMPLE

(n) Simple (any herbaceous plant having medicinal properties)

(adj) Simple (having few parts; not complex or complicated or involved)

Illustration Friday: CHAIR

And so I am having Dr.Zhivago moment here…Whimsical Zhivago? I looked through a few translations, and this one is my favorite by far, though the boots in other translations are ether tiny shoes or slippers… and therefore, no boots! Lily.

Winter night

The blizzards all across the earth
Have swept uncurbed
The candle burned upon the desk
The candle burned

As in the summer, moths are drawn
Towards the flame
The pale snowflakes soared
Towards the pane

Upon the glass, bright snowy rings
And streaks were churned
The candle burned upon the desk
The candle burned

On the illumined ceiling
Shadows swayed
A cross of arms, a cross of legs
A cross of fate

Two boots fell down on the floor
With crashing sound
And from the crown tears of wax
Dripped on the gown

And nothing in the snowy haze
Could be discerned
The candle burned upon the desk
The candle burned

A gentle draft blew on the flame,
And in temptation,
It raised two wings into a cross
As if an angel

It swept and swept all through the month
This frequently occurred
The candle burned upon the desk
The candle burned

Translated by Andrey Kneller

Procrastination is just another word for creativity. Lily.

Illustration Friday: GLAMOUR

Glamour:

Noun
Glamor, glamour (alluring beauty or charm (often with sex-appeal))

Verb

Bewitch, glamour, enchant

(cast a spell over someone or something; put a hex on someone or something)

artwork by Lily

Here is Lucy!

Found this while cleaning my art closet… Thought it fitting. Lily.