Meadow Inspiration - Vickie Henderson

If you're looking for a relaxing lift and some inspiration, take a walk through a late summer meadow. It's like visiting a fairyland, a feast of color, sound and texture. I always have a camera nearby and when time is short, it's a wonderful aid to memory. It allows me to create the sketches later, when I have more time. In this case, I created the pencil sketch last night, layed down the lighter values this morning and finished the sketch after arriving home from the office tonight.

And while I went through this creative process, I enjoying the meadow all over again and this magical encounter with a female Monarch laying her eggs.
In the sketch she is visiting a White Crownbeard, a flower with winged stalks that is a member of the Aster family. But the plant she selected for depositing her eggs was right beside it, the milkweed. Milkweed is the only plant that Monarch caterpillars eat.

To see images of her while egg-laying, visit my post Of Monarchs and Milkweed at Vickie Henderson Art.