A life tick for me, having seen a picture of this caterpillar in my much-loved Usborne Naturetrail Omnibus about 45 years ago:
Imagine my delight when I spotted one on the cycle track as I was out with the dog. I immediately thought: puss moth! but then checked myself as they’re normally depicted in full feeling-threatened mode with neck puffed up revealing the eyespots, and the tail-whips extended. While part of me would have loved to have seen that, I was quite flattered that he or she seemed quite relaxed, and I didn’t want to stress them out just so I could see them do their thing.
What a beauty. I’ve been feeling very short on motivation to draw or paint recently. I moved house about 18 months ago and it was a chance to have a proper downsize, sort out and rethink, and establish a new routine in my much smaller and blissfully empty nest, all my children having moved on to new and much more exciting things than living with their mum. My son, however, is having an enforced return to that nest (did I mention it was small?) while he organises getting himself over to join his girlfriend for their future life in France. He’s finding the process extremely frustrating and is consequently in a bad mood most of the time, so I am walking on eggshells and keeping out of his way, and thus away from my art things, freedom to self-determine, access to space, peace, background naff jazz and the other creature comforts I have realised I need in order to work effectively and allow ideas to come to fruition. As a homeschooling lone parent, I spent most of my child-rearing years coming in very low on my (and everyone else’s) list of priorities, and having had a flavour of it this past year, I am not relinquishing the space I have endeavoured to carve out for myself with a great deal of grace. It’s not for much longer (hopefully less than 6 weeks), and I know I will miss him when he leaves even though I am aware that the sentiment won’t be reciprocated.
All this being a very long-winded way to say that instead of trying to be creative – I desperately want to draw the fabulous Queen Anne’s lace which is exuberantly occupying the verge outside the house – I am sticking to drawing things either from photos, preferably my own, or things I know I can draw. I miss experimenting and messing around but I will get back to it, and while that side of things remains too cluttered up with other distractions, I’ll keep my muscle memory honed with safe, easy projects that bring me a sense of achievement.
I enjoyed painting the caterpillar. This is done in gouache in my Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbook.
