My Teeny Tiny Royalty Show went very well, I’d say.
For this new body of work I decided to highlight a few species that man has given a “royal” name to. I also made placard cards with the Latin name of each species and a few quick facts to display under each piece. As I said in my interview about the show, I think sometimes people forget about having wonder for the natural world.
(I’ll put my fast facts from the placard of each piece in gray italics. Like this.)
The first part of my show was a kick back to the way I “used” to paint. Before Charlie I painted things as I saw them in “real life”, without much of an effort to stylize anything.
The first piece to come about was “Queen Bee.”
Approximately 4×6 inches; completed in watercolor on Arches paper. Includes white acrylic paint, pearlex, and gold leaf. SOLD.
Apis mellifera: Usually the mother of nearly every bee in her hive, the Queen’s only role is to serve as a reproducer. She may lay up to 2,000 eggs per day during her 3 to 6 years of life. Her fertilized eggs become female bees and are the worker bees of her hive, gathering pollen and nectar. The unfertilized eggs become male, or drone bees which have no stinger & are banished from the hive in winter. At the death of the Queen, a new one is reared by feeding a select female larva “royal jelly” to make her fertile.
Second: “Emperor Scorpion”.
Approximately 4×6 inches; completed in watercolor on Arches paper. Includes white acrylic paint, pearlex, and gold leaf. (Edit 12.4.11: SOLD.)
Pandinus imperator: Quite bulky and with a shiny black exoskeleton, Emperors often reach 8” in length and are widely distributed through West Africa, living in burrows in moist forests and open savannas. It is actually one of the more docile scorpions and therefore one of the most commonly found in the pet trade. This species is one of the largest of scorpions and has a life span of about eight years. The emperor scorpion fluoresces greenish-blue under ultra-violet light.
Third: “Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing”.
10×8 inches; completed in watercolor on Arches with added pearlex.
Ornithoptera alexandrae: This very rare and endangered species is found only in a lowland strip of New Guinea rainforest. Named in 1907 to honor the current Danish Queen Alexandra, this enormous butterfly is considered the largest in the world, often with a wingspan of 12 inches. While caterpillars the black larvæ eat a toxic pipevine plant, thus becoming poisonous to predators and remaining so into adulthood. Male & female birdwings appear wildly different in shape & color.
Fourth: “Monarch”.
6×6 inches; completed in watercolor on Arches with added pearlex. SOLD.
Danaus plexippus: Monarch butterflies are one of the few insects capable of making trans-Atlantic crossings and are known for their lengthy annual migration. Monarchs go through four stages in a life cycle, and usually through four generations in one year. If the monarch belongs to a part of a migratory group it may live for 8 to 9 months. If it dœs not, the butterfly may live just two weeks. Migratory groups may cover 2,000 miles before reaching the mountains of Mexico.
Fifth: “King Cobra”.
8×10 inches; completed in watercolor on Arches with added white acrylic, gold leaf and pearlex. SOLD.
Ophiophagus hannah: King cobras can reach 18 feet in length, making them the longest of all venomous snakes. Although cobras can hear, they are actually deaf to ambient sound and are usually very shy. When threatened kings will “stand up”, and with the flaring of their iconic hoods a hiss is emitted sounding much like a growling dog. They are the only snakes in the world that build nests for their eggs, which they guard ferociously until the hatchlings emerge.
Sixth: “Royal Antelope”.
5×7 inches; completed in watercolor on Arches with added pearlex. SOLD.
Neotragus pygmaeus: Adult royal antelope are about the size of a rabbit; standing just 25cm tall at the shoulder and weighing around nine pounds. They inhabit areas with dense undergrowth and are only found in the Guinea rainforest block of west Africa. Royal antelope move with a high-stepping gait, constantly flicking their tail, and drop down to hide if suddenly disturbed. They remain still and wait to flee at the last second, using their long, powerful hind legs to complete long bounds.
Seventh, and the exception to this group as I fell back on my stylization and made a human a more dominant figure: “Emperor Tamarin”.
11×14 inches; completed in acrylic. SOLD.
Saguinus imperator: A small primate (25cm body length) from the southwest Amazon basin, the emperor tamarin lives in groups of 2 to 8 animals with the eldest female leading the group. They mainly feed on fruit during the wet season, along with a very small proportion of nectar, sap and fungi with nectar becoming the most important component of their diet during the dry season. They have long white mustaches of fur and live approximately 17 years.
That’s all for recap one of this show! Part two up next. Check for prints of this work to be added to my shop.
