This week’s art inspiration is an illustration of beetles eating away on a linden tree leaf. I love the bold, graphic lines in this artwork, with details few have the patience to draw these days.
Last Saturday I got to see nature’s real brush strokes when it comes to beetles and butterflies! My husband and I went to Minoh, a picturesque village just outside Osaka with many adjoining hiking trails. Our aim was hiking but there it was: Minoh Park Insect Museum. Below are some of the stunningly beautiful creatures we photographed.
The beetle illustration is from a Danish book about the life of insects in fields and forest (Fra Mark og Skov. Insekternes Liv), published in 1881 in Copenhagen, by Wilhelm Bergsøe.
Hope you enjoy this beautiful artwork as well as the colorful beetles and butterflies below! How about taking inspiration from the shape and colors of these pretty bugs and let them inspire your artwork?
By the way, I have curated a big collection of colorful bugs and butterflies on my Pinterest board called “Color in Nature: Bugs”.
Check out my watercolor and drawing tutorials with loads of free resources!
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From the main street in Minoh village just outside Osaka in Japan
