Born In June By Adrienne Balkum
It is a 6×6 watercolor where I used Master’s Touch watercolor paint on acid free paper. The pad that I purchased only has 12 sheets for $6.99 that I picked up from Hobby Lobby.
Normally when you are doing a watercolor you want to see blends in your colors. In this case it was about keeping the gradual colors within its cell of oranges. The Monarch Butterfly is known to have distinct markings of black outlining each color. As it landed on some colorful wild flowers to have brunch I believe the blends of the colors show in the depth of the petals and stems.
Fun facts behind the title of this piece is that this particular butterfly is expected to live between two to six weeks.
It’s an interesting life cycle that goes through four stages and has four generations in one year. See the egg, the larvae (caterpillar), the pupa (chrysalis), and the adult butterfly.
The one featured is a second generation monarch butterfly that are born in May and June, and then the third generation will be born in July and August. These monarch butterflies will go through exactly the same four stage life cycle as the first generation did, dying two to six weeks after it becomes a beautiful monarch butterfly.
The fourth generation of monarch butterflies is a little bit different than the first three generations. The fourth generation is born in September and October and goes through exactly the same process as the first, second and third generations except for one part. The fourth generation of monarch butterflies does not die after two to six weeks. Instead, this generation of monarch butterflies migrates to warmer climates like Mexico and California and will live for six to eight months until it is time to start the whole process over again.
The Monarch-Butterfly.com has much to say about this remarkable little creature. There is also ideas of how to observe the stages with kits as well as conservation.
Hold on and then let go.