Like the first page of insect drawings these drawings are the result of many years work trying to figure out what insects were in my garden. As I became more interested in them I went from a small $10 pocket microscope to a much more expensive dissecting microscope. This showed insects in much more detail, allowing much more detail in the drawings and also making identification easier. As I became fascinated by insects I also started to collect them wherever I found them.
It's difficult to explain the motivation, though part of it was just curiosity: I wanted to be able to identify the insects that I found. It was also difficult when doing this work to reconcile it with the seemingly far more ambitious large abstract paintings that I had done through much of my artistic career. This was just drawing what I saw. At least initially there was no greater ambition. All I can say it that this type of work seemed more honest than much of what I saw being shown and praised in galleries, particularly 'important' art. To some extent it was a quiet revolt against it.
At the same time there was the simple desire to put down on paper exactly what I saw, one of the most basic goals of much European art. As I wrote in my blog, drawing, especially in the sense of carving three-dimensional illusion out of the flat space of paper or canvas, is a common theme in both my abstract and representational art. Also, as I drew them I also began to realize that insects offered a wealth of shapes and juxtaposition of shapes. So what began as a very realistic endeavor eventually took on some abstract qualities.
Long after the fact it's hard to consider how much environmentalism had to play in this. Though I'd grown up closely exposed to nature most of my years as an artist, generally in big cities, did not include much contact with nature. But the combination of both fishing and gardening gave me greater exposure to nature. For the last 20 years it has played an increasingly larger part in my life. My expanding interest in birdwatching, as seen in so much of my recent art work, also put me out in nature far more frequently. This exposure led to a much greater appreciation for nature and for environmentalism. I'm sure that part of my continued work in insect drawings indicated a newfound respect for the diversity of nature.
'Shining Leaf Beetle', 10x13, pen and ink.
'Ground Beetle', 10x13, pen and ink.
'Fruit Fly', 10x13, pen and ink.
'Ensign Wasp', 10x13, pen and ink.
'Seed Bug', 10x13, pen and ink.
'Squash Vine Borer', 10x13, pen and ink.
