Painting #18- 52/52 Painting Challenge

White and Purple Paphiopedilum- Watercolor ©2012 Mindy Lighthipe

A few weeks ago I was at the Gainesville Orchid Society meeting and they had a silent auction on some of the members plants. I found this miniature paph and fell in love with it. I am used to seeing paphs with long slender stems with big blooms on the end. The flowers are almost always staked up. The orchid was very compact. As soon as I placed my bid I noticed that another member had placed a bid on it. I paced around the room and finally came back and bid on it again. It was nerve racking for about 40 minutes when I finally told the other bidder I would arm wrestle her for it. She laughed and we each decided that we were each bidding on several orchids. We discussed which ones were "gotta have". Luckily for both of us we were both thrilled with the orchids we took home.

One of the things I do when I first get a plant is to spend time drawing it from all different angles.I find that the more I draw it the more I learn and figure out what is the best angle to portray it from. With this orchid Iiked that back of it as much as I liked the front of it……. So I worked into my composition both of the drawings that I did as sketches into the final painting. I hope that you like it.

When you start a painting, how do you decide the composition?

52/52 Painting Challenge Week # 18

"Harlequin Beetle" Watercolor on Vellum; MLighthipe ©2012

It is almost 20 years ago that I decided to give up my profession as a handweaver and become a botanical artist and natural science illustrator. When I graduated from college with my BFA and MA in Art and Art Education my focus had been on the Fiber Arts. I was into shearing sheep, spinning wool, growing natural dyes and handweaving fabric on an 8 harness floor loom. I traveled around the country and did craft fairs selling my handwoven scarves, shawls and clothing for about 10 years. Weaving is intensive labor and I finally decided to change my focus in the late 1980's. The Harlequin Beetle was one of the reasons  that pushed me into painting and away from making fabric. I was traveling in Costa Rica and met an entomologist named Richard Whitten. He had an insect museum, Jewels of the Rainforest, that had over a million specimens in it. The harlequin beetle was one of my favorites. I realized that as an artist what I was really drawn to was color, texture and pattern. Most people are not "bug lovers". They freakout about stinging, sucking, hairy, 6 legged, crawling , flying critters. I have always loved them! When I look at the pattern on the elytra (outer shell of the beetle) of the harlequin beetle I imagine a tribal mud cloth from Africa. I can never get enough of the color combinations and intricate patterns. I no longer weave, although I still have one of my looms, all my yarns and weaving equipment. Perhaps one day I will get back into it but for now my fascination remains with the creepy crawlers!

How do feel about bugs? Which one is your favorite?

If you love bugs….. think about coming on our BUGS, Beasts & Botanicals Tour in 2013. Stay tuned for the itinerary.

52/52 Painting Challenge Week # 17

The Year of the Bat

Large Flying Fox (Pteropus vampyrus) Mindy Lighthipe © 2012

This is the final painting that I did from my Bat Photo Day at the Lubee Bat Conservancy.  I really enjoyed seeing all the different bats that they have there. One of my main concerns as an artist is educating the general public about the interconnection of all living things. Bats have been given a bad name as being blood sucking and evil. Bats are a necessary part of our planet. Here are some facts about bats that you might not have known.

1. They are the only mammals that fly.
   
2. They are major pollinators of plants.
   
3. Fruit eating bats play a leading role in seed dispersal.
   
4. 145 genera of plants depend solely on bats for pollination and seed dispersal.
   
5. 134 plants that yield products used by humans are entirely or partially reliant upon bats for seed dispersal or pollination.
   
6. There are 173 different species of fruit bats found in tropical and subtropical areas of the old world.
   
7. A group of bats is called a "camp".
   
8. Fruit bats are often the only mammals on oceanic islands.
   
9. Flying foxes belong to a group of mammals called Chiroptera, which means hand-wing.  A bats wing is its hand.
   
10. 2011-2012 is the Year of the Bat.

I am arranging to have fineart archival prints made of my bat paintings in an effort to help support the Lubee Bat Conservancy. If you are interested in owning a set of these prints please feel free to contact me.
 

Painting #15- Paphiopedilum

"Dark Beauty" Original Watercolor Mindy Lighthipe ©2012

I was hoping to get this posted some time ago because I was out of the studio on vacation last week. I finished the painting, got it scanned and then started to write the blog post. Unfortunately I ran out of time and didn't get it posted until I got home. Here is my 15th painting of my 52/52 painting challenge. I am back on track!
 

I really enjoyed painting this paphiopedilum. This type of orchid is also called a Lady Slipper Orchid and often the latin name is just shortened to Paph. Paphs mostly grow on the ground which makes them terrestrial orchids. Some do grow in trees making them epiphytes but this is not the norm. They love to be pot bound and will not flower unless the roots are in confined containers. It seemed weird to have this big robust plant with lots of leaves and this one tall flower in a tiny little pot that kept toppling over. The flower was propped with a stake made of bamboo and the stem was clipped to the bamboo so the flower would stay up. I kept moving it around and it kept falling over so I put it into a vase so that it would stand up. I was surprised at how much abuse it took. The flower lasted for about a month. This was great because I had a lot of time and didn't have to worry about it wilting on me. I am now currently out of orchids that are blooming but tomorrow night is my next meeting with the Gainesville Orchid Society and another guest speaker is coming in with plants for sale. I wonder what I'll come home with next!

If you have any questions about how I paint please feel free to ask me. I am always happy to give advice and explanations. Your questions make great blog posts!

Painting #14 of the 52/52 Painting Challenge

One of the World’s Largest Beetles

Macrodontia cervicornis- watercolor on vellum ©MLighthipe 2012

This is the largest and best-known member of the genus Cerambycidae. It is a Macrodontia cervicornis, male long-horned beetle we found in the woods at Selva Verde Lodge on our trip to Costa Rica this past February. This species is the second longest beetle on the planet. It can grow in excess of 7 inches in length. This "little guy" that we found was only about 6 inches. A large portion of the length is comprised of its enormous mandibles or pinchers.  The latin name Macrodontia, means "large tooth", and cervicornis means "deer antler". This species can be found in the rain forests of Central and South America.  They like to borrow in mango trees and lay their larva in rotted wood.

I again used calf skin vellum for this painting. I bought 4 pieces from Pergamena to experiment with and the more I paint on it, the more I like it. The surface has a bit of an oily feel to it. Oil resists watercolor. I used a soft kneaded eraser to erase the surface of the vellum to remove the excess oil. This seemed to work well for me. I was able to paint on it with out any beading of the paint after I used the kneaded eraser. The vellum has a tendency to curl up so I am storing it in between some heavy books and will have to investigate the best way to frame the work to keep it flat.

Painting #13- week 13 of 52/52 Painting Challenge

"Cicada Passage" ©2012 Mindy Lighthipe Watercolor on Vellum

This past weekend I took a painting on vellum class with Karen Kluglein at the Sag Harbor Inn on Long Island. Karen does beautiful botanical watercolors on vellum. Her work is delicate and full of life and form. For those of you who don't know, vellum is animal skin. As I learn more about it I will share with you what I find out.

I knew that this workshop was going to be a challenge for me because this watercolor technique is with a very dry brush. For those of you who have been following my blog, you know that I am the wet and splashy kind of watercolorist. I think it is always good for me to to step out of my comfort zone and try something new.  Working contrary to the way I am used to painting puts a jolt into my system and gets the creative juices flowing. I have admired the work of many artists who work on vellum so I thought I would give it a whirl. I must admit that it is labor intensive and requires a slow methodical repetition, but I enjoyed it! 

I always seem to have a hard time staying "pure" within a medium. I quickly strayed from the technique in many ways. I worked on 3 paintings during the 2 days, 2 of them were insects and the other one was a parrot tulip. Here is the cicada painting that I finished. Here is how I strayed from the traditional methods on this one. I started by inking in my subject using a rapidograph pen. It was super easy to get the fine lines of the veins on the wings. I painted mostly in watercolor but did use a dash of white gouache on the eyes, wings and body. The background texture that you see is actually the pigmentation of the animal skin. I believe this was calf skin and I really liked the variation in color. I am used to working on super white watercolor paper so this was a switch for me. All in all I was happy with my first attempt and I think I will keep up with this technique and see what I can come up.

Have you worked on vellum? What has been your experience? I would love to hear all about it!

Painting #12/Week #12 -Bodacious Cattleya

"Bodacious Cattleya "20" x 24" Watercolor ©2012 MLighthipe

I just finished this painting of another Cattleya. I just can't seem to get enough of them. The colors are so bright and bold. The blooms were so big on this plant that I had to go to a full sheet of watercolor. They were almost the size of a cake plate! I have just started to build a little back yard green house for my growing orchid collection.

One of the wonderful things that I just found out is that Marion Sheehan was a botanical artist and lived here in Gainesville Florida. Her husband, is Thomas Sheehan and he is retired from the University of Florida where he taught Botany and Orchid culture. Together this married couple wrote and illustrated many publications about orchids. Marion has passed away so I did not have the honor of meeting her in person. Her husband and daughter regularly attend the Gainesville Orchid Society meetings.  I recently met them and they are a wealth of knowledge about growing orchids and orchid morphology. Marion's paintings were "true" scientific botanical illustrations. Her paintings were not just the habit, (the whole plant) but also the dissected parts of the flower. She had a wonderful eye for composition. If you are interested in reading about Marion and Thomas Sheehan check out the book by Timber Press entitled,"An Illustrated Survey of Orchid Genera".

This week I am headed up to New Jersey to teach a class in Botanical Illustration and then heading out to take a class on painting on vellum. I will keep you posted and updated!

Cheers!

Mindy

Malayan Flying Fox- Pteropus vampyrus

Painting #11

This fruit bat is the largest flying fox in the world. It has a wingspan of 4 to 5.5 feet. I first saw them in Animal Kingdom in Disney World. They are amazing bats. This particular bat was the species that was used in one of my favorite children's books, Stella Luna. If you haven't seen the book, you really should  check it out. The illustrations are whimsical yet accurate. At the time I didn't realize it, but Disney got their Malayan bats from the Lubee Bat Conservancy right here in my home town of Gainesville, Fl. This painting the third bat painting I have done as part of the 52/52 Painting Challenge. I have one more painting left on the drawing board and almost ready to paint. When I am done I am hoping to use them to help promote Lubee and Bat Conservation.

The technique I used is the graphite tonal drawing with the gouache painted on top. I find it the easiest and fastest method for painting fur. These bats are soft and have a lot of hair on their bodies. Their wings are more leathery and pliable.

If you want to find out more about Flying Foxes, Animal Planet has a fascinating article of their blog. Check it out here.

52/52 Painting Challenge

Silence of the Lambs… The Death's Head Moth

One of the scariest movies I have seen is Silence of the Lambs. I love Jody Foster and Anthony Hopkins. The two of them together along with the Death's Head Moth sent me into the movie theaters years ago even though I am a bit of scaredy cat. The moth pupa was the signature left by the serial killer in the movie. I have been dying to paint it ever since!

The name Death's-head moth refers to any one of the three species of moth in the genus Acherontia. The common name for the genus is a sphinx or hawk moth. They are found in Europe and Asia. They get their name because they have a pattern of markings on the thorax that looks like a human skull. All three species are fairly similar in size, coloration, and life cycle.

They have the ability to create a loud squeak when irritated. They have a brightly-colored abdomen that they expose by spreading their wings to deter predators. I have included this YouTube video so you can see a live one in action.

In this painting I used masking fluid to mask off the moth and paint the background and lichen first. Once the background was dropped in and dry I peeled off the masking fluid. I drew in the detail of the moth and painted it. My recommendation if you are thinking about using masking fluid is to make sure not to leave it on your watercolor paper for more than 24 hours. It will adhere to the paper and be hard to remove if left longer. I have seen it remove part of the paper and ruin a painting.

Happy Painting!

Mindy

52/52 Painting Challenge- Painting # 9

Dendrobium lindleyi (aggregatum)

Original Watercolor by Mindy Lighthipe ©2012

Dendrobium Aggregatum is also known as Dendrobium lindleyi. It is the first specie orchid I have painted. All the orchids I have painted before have all been hybrids. I have been attending the Gainesville Orchid Society meetings and have been learning a lot about them. Although I am not a big fan of the color yellow I loved the pseudo bulbs and the shape of the flowers. They look sort of like pansies and the color reminds me of daffodils. It is about this time that the daffodils start to bloom in New Jersey and this is the first time I am not living in New Jersey to see them. This orchid blooms in the spring and has very fragile yellow  flowers which smell like honey. Most of the orchids I have painted last about 2-4 weeks. I bought this plant with 2 spray of buds on it and within 2 days the flowers were open. I thought it would slowly open up and I would be able to capture the buds as well as the flowers in my painting. Overnight the flowers opened. What do you do when this happens?????? I dropped the painting I was working on which was another Flying Fox Bat and immediately started to draw the flowers. I quickly got the composition done, transferred the drawing, redrew it and painted the flowers FIRST! The foliage, pseudo bulbs and roots will be there after the flowers are gone. This is how I normally do my painting. If the flowers die before I get a chance to paint them I usually wait until the following year to paint. It seems like a long time to wait but I prefer to do this rather than work from photos. The color and details I can get are more accurate than relying on photos. Luckily this time I was able to get it painted before they all died. My growing expertise is yet to be seen. I don't know if the plant will ever bloom for me again….. for that matter….. I don't know if I can even keep it alive! Thank goodness I have the 52/52 challenge to keep me on my toes!