Dragonfly

 'Dragonfly'

A5 Watercolour, Pitt Pen and Max Factor Max Effect Nailpolish on Paper

Copyright 2013 by Shiloh Moore

Last time I was near a creek I saw two gorgeous buzzing dragonflies.  I was captured by them.  Their iridescent glow was stimulating to the eye.  I tried to take a photo but couldn't get close enough and it just couldn't capture their essence.  

Then a friend, Jayne Eldred, posted one of her photos of a dragonfly on her facebook page 'Jayne Eldred Photography' in the album 'Pokolbin, Hunter Valley March 2013.'

 Dragonfly by Jayne Eldred Photography

Used with Permission

This photo stunned me.  The beauty of the delicate dragonfly, was captured incredibly.  I think it's my all-time favourite photo of a dragonfly!

I have a Max Factor Max Effect nail polish in blue that shines green on different angles.  I had an idea to draw the dragonfly and colour the body with this nailpolish to get the iridescent effect in different lighting.  It's not captured here in the scan, but framed in real life, you can see it shines at different angles. 

I drew the dragonfly with pitt pen, coloured the body with nailpolish, then did the background colours with watercolour and detail on the wings of the body with more watercolour.

 'Dragonfly'

copyright 2013 by Shiloh Moore

I am using this design to make 'thank you' and 'sympathy' cards like below:

'Dragonfly - With Gratitude'

copyright 2013 by Shiloh Moore

Boab Tree

'Boab Tree'

copyright 2013 by Shiloh Moore

6cm x 8cm

Acrylic and crackle medium on Canvas

A friend is going through a particularly tough time at the moment.  Her emblem for strength is the Western Australian 'Boab Tree' found in the Kimberley.  Some of these trees are known to be more than 1500 years old.  They live in a harsh environment and store thousands of litres of water, and are almost entirely edible, some parts with medicinal properties.  There is strong mythology around these trees in the Aboriginal rock art and Dreamtime Stories.  The trees are known for surviving and providing sanctuary in the harsh outback Australian landscape.  

These qualities are amazing, no wonder my friend identifies with them as her personal motif.

So I painted this tiny mini canvas for her, experimenting with crackle medium.  I chose the green for the tree, to represent life (Boab trees are not green), but I'm worried it makes it look more like a cactus than a Boab!  But hey, here I'll use some artistic licence!  

So here's to strength, endurance, hospitality and spiritual connectedness.  Sending love to my friend xx

 close up of 'Boab Tree'

copyright 2013 by Shiloh Moore