For some reason, we have been blessed with several visits from these luminous-looking creatures over the years. When they do put in an appearance, they're usually found hanging out on or near our front door.

Until Friday morning.

As Chris was about to leave for work, he spotted something odd laying in the driveway. Upon closer inspection, he found a Luna moth. It was no longer capable of flight. He carefully picked it up and brought to me.

You see, I collect bugs. And snake skins. And animal skulls. And other bits and bobs. And yes, I'm aware that's a little odd, but it works for me.

I set the moth up high on a shelf near a light source until it left this earthly plane.

When I have seen these in the past, I was always so impressed with how thick and velvety their wings seemed. More so than other moths and butterflies. Or so it seemed.

I kept the moth under a glass bowl for protection from a naughty cat that lives with me.

This little one did not seem nearly so hale and hearty. The wings were nearly translucent and the overall size was not nearly as large as some of the others we've seen. The other visitors have shown up in May or later. Perhaps our non-existent winter had something to do with the early arrival.
These moths do not eat or drink as adults and only have a lifespan of about seven days. Their only purpose in adulthood is to mate and reproduce the next generation. Since we have none of the trees that they like to lay their eggs on, it's always a little bit of a surprise to find one by the door.

I chose to paint him on toned paper as I was hoping it would give an indication as to how translucent the wings actually are, but I don't think I quite captured that look. This was sketched using ink, watercolor, and watercolor pencils.

Now that I have a "specimen" in my collection, I'm sure this won't be the last time it will make its way into my journal. You just never know what you'll find if you keep your eyes open!

Have you found any unexpected gifts from nature lately?
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Two quick reminders for this week!



An Imaginary Visit To A Tulip Festival will begin this Thursday! We'll be working with all kinds of bright color both close up and at a distance over a field. We'll also play around with all kinds of greens and how to make them interesting. If this sounds like fun to you, come and join me! Please click here or on the class title to sign up!

P.S. As ImaginaryTrips.com will be celebrating six years of creative fun and learning, I am offering this class at a special celebratory price. Check out the link above to find out more!






Next up, if you're anywhere nearby, plan on joining me for a class at Keeton's Office And Art Supply in Bradenton this Saturday, June 25th! We'll be capturing the jeweled wings of the Monarch Butterfly in our sketchbooks! It seems kind of appropriate since today marks the Summer Solstice!

To sign up for this class, please contact Keeton's directly by following the link above!



Hope to see you there or in the Imaginary Realm!

Finished Journal Page Stillman & Birn Zeta Sketchbook Ink and watercolor 5.5 x 8.5

Do you ever lose track of the small "events" of your days? I do. And I'm guessing that may help to explain my fascination with the journal pages that are actually calendar pages that folks have drawn and doodled on.

Wish that I could and would, I know that I'm not disciplined (or interested) enough to follow through with week after week of calendar doodles and journaling.

Instead, I tried a different approach that seems to be moderately successful for me. The journal page you see above actually looked more like the one below until yesterday when I added the touches of color to it.

I started off with just writing about small things I wanted to remember with a very simple doodle like the skink tail. This is either the fourth or fifth LARGE skink that the kittens have captured in the house. Even without the tail, their bodies have been four to five inches long!

The other day, they caught another one. While I wrangled this one outside, Moby and Willis were having a joyous time tossing the still-wiggling tail around the kitchen. Blah. Ick. Yuck.

Because this event has happened a number of times, I went with Skink Tales rather than Tails as a fun jest.

A few days later, the mighty huntress, also know as Moby, was playing with something in the office behind my chair. Upon closer inspection it looked like a wasp with yellow rings on the tail. Not a yellow jacket, but something similar.

The huntress was not amused at the removal of her latest toy—it buzzed.

I drew it in and then added the journaling and date box before going on with other things.

Lastly, I bought some socks this week—$36 worth for $2.11! Nine pair of socks for two bucks! Score!

When I showed them to Chris to tell him about my great deal, he responded, "You've got Dr. Seuss socks!"

No doubt, these socks will forevermore be known as my Dr. Seuss socks.

Just the Ink Platinum Carbon Black Using Pilot Namiki Falcon and Metropolitan Fountain Pens

After I filled the page, I added a few more notes about other events that didn't make it onto the page.

I then added watercolor to the small sketches. It was not my intent to add a lot of color, just something to liven up the page.

It wasn't lively enough so I added some splatter for more liveliness forgetting that some of the ink (red) was not permanent. It didn't run too badly, but it's a note for next time.

There's nothing earth shattering or gorgeous on the page, and yet I find myself oddly pleased to have captured some of the simple moments that make up my days. I didn't feel "trapped" by having to fill every.single.box.on.a.calendar.page either.

By being flexible on the dates and when it was added, it made it more fun without any pressure.

I think I may just have to try this again!

Watercolor of a Pipevine Swallowtail Stillman & Birn Beta Bound Journal 5.5 x 8.5 inches

 Her wings were moving, but he wasn't lifting off. I opened the door and stepped over near her and she still didn't lift off so I carefully coaxed her onto my finger.  Once I was back in the jeep, I handed her off to Chris how placed her on the floorboard.  

Detail of watercolor of a Pipevine Swallowtail Stillman & Birn Beta Bound Journal 5.5 x 8.5 inches

My hope was that she was merely stunned, but in short order, it became obvious that her wing had been damaged and she was no longer able to fly. Butterflies typically have a very short lifespan anyway, and with no way to fly as well as the possibility of internal injuries, there wasn't much chance of her surviving.

Nature's unfortunate loss was my gain as it gave me the opportunity to examine this winged jewel up close and at my leisure. She's now making her home in my bug collection. In addition to this beauty, I was also gifted with a Rhino Beetle and a Cicada.

The cicada was found by my 11-year-old nephew. He gave it to my father with instructions to give it me. My whole family "gifts" me with bugs! How cool is that?!

Now I just need to make the time to sketch them all. Could someone "gift" me some time to go with all these bugs?!

Whenever I hear my husband say those words I know I'll usually be looking at something cool and unexpected in the next few seconds. Friday morning was no exception. Chris was getting ready to leave and noticed something unusual hanging out by the door:
 A stunning Luna Moth! I was so excited!! One of the artists in the Imaginary Visit to the Garden class had painted one and several of lamented we had only seen these in photos. I'm sure you can imagine my surprise to find one perched by our door. I hustled back inside to grab my camera and sketchbook:

Luna Moth on Strathmore Aquarius Watercolor Paper

In my hurry to get the moth painted, I managed to drop my palette. Fortunately, I was standing on concrete when it happened so the paints did not get muddy/gritty/dirty. Turns out I didn't need to worry as the Luna bug hung around until the next day, when this one showed up: