While September was a busy month it was not really productive in respect of design, painting or photography. A lot going on with my principal focus on planning my trip to Europe. More on this subject next week.
Watercolours
The King Swallowtail (Papilio thoas) became a subject in my watercolour journal after I found a caterpillar, commonly referred to as “bird poop caterpillars” in view of the camouflage appearance, feeding on my recently planted Common Rue (Ruta graveolens) plant, known in Brazil as Arruda.
I let the caterpillar feed, despite concerns about the arruda, but the caterpillar failed to complete its transition to the chrysalis stage. Two more caterpillars appeared though one was attacked by ants and died in the process of converting to the chrysalis. The third made it and now sits protected from attack in a glass jar. It is expected to turn into a butterfly any day now.
I managed to paint both the caterpillar and the chrysalis:
The orange “horns” are not ordinarily visible in the caterpillar but, when threatened, the two balloon-like elements rush out of the caterpillar’s head and scare off any bird considering a snack. The “horns” then deflate and disappear.
The chrysalis takes 10-15 days to mature, so any day now!
The Rockpooling Project
I haven’t added more work to the project but I shall be visiting the Scilly Isles in November and, weather and tides permitting I hope to participate in a Safari, take lots of photos, and build an image bank for painting once I return to base.
Product Design
The 2022 Christmas card design is now available in my Zazzle Store both as a greetings card and as a pattern for my paper party plates.
Alan Skyrme Photography
My PicFair site has not been updated for quite a long time, primarily as I haven’t had the opportunity to travel. After my forthcoming trip to Europe I expect to have enough new material to put up for licensing on Picfair and Alamy.
ETSY
My ETSY store, Pipira Rosa, has about 50 items on sale. The digital downloadable prints will be on sale even while I travel but the physical products will be removed while I am away.
I shall upload new products after I return from my trip, ready for Christmas!
While in UK I hope to replenish my stock of watercolour paints and papers.
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