The Last Rose, a Painting from New Zealand

The Last Rose

 

This is my latest painting from the garden as Autumn settles in.   It is warm

and muggy with the rain and the bees and butterflies are still busy

 

 

Among the leaves are many small beetles and ladybirds as we tidy up

for Winter.  This work will form part of my Wild Garden exhibition

not just a series of paintings on gardens but a look at the

importance of supporting our birds and insects within an urban

environment.

 

Midnight Collective

 

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2016

 

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Painting Rudbeckia Daisies in a New Zealand Garden

 

Rudbeckia Daisies

This is a new painting of the Rudbeckia daisies in a nearby garden.  They are intermingled

with poppies and salvia and the bees seem to love them all.  We are almost into

Autumn now and the houheria or lace bark tree is flowering at the back of our garden,

 it is full of honey bees and from there they are coming into our vegetable patch to fertilize 

the pumpkins.  Along with the monarch butterflies they

are also visiting my pink cosmos and scarlet dahlias.

 

 

Wellington has had the hottest Summer on record so even with Autumn here

the days are warm and muggy.

A Monarch on the houheria tree

 

Midnight Collective Blog

 

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2016



The Decline of Bees in New Zealand

 

Loosing Our Bees

This year I have grown a few sunflowers which the bees usually love but I have not seen

one on them.  I have one of the pollenless variety which I would not have grown had

I realised, however the others are full of pollen and still no action.  Earlier in the

season at blossom time we had many bees but now it is difficult to see them around at

all.  Even so I love my sunflowers so here are some pictures of them.

 

 

 

If you want to help the plight of the Bees in New Zealand you can sign the petition organised

by Steffan Browing, which asks the Environmental Protection Agency to develop a strategy to

protect our bees from harmful neonicotinoids used in agricultural sprays.

 

For more information on Steffan’s campaign:
Webpage (including a downloadable petition form to gather more signatures): http://action.greens.org.nz/bees-info
Sign the online petition: http://action.greens.org.nz/bees2?utm_expid=98069376-4.044JnMHSQ_S5PLwfTm8mPA.2&utm_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Faction.greens.org.nz%2Fbees-info

Here is one bumble bee on a scabiosa!

 

Frances Jill Studd website

Midnight Collective Blogspot

 

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2016

 

 

 



A Bee Friendly Wild Garden Painting from New Zealand

 

 

A Bee Friendly Painting

 

 

I have just finished this painting, another one in my Wild Gardens series.

After reading two books by Dave Goulson I am committed to planting bee

friendly flowers in my garden along with our native species which bring the birds.

If you are interested in the conservation of the bees around your garden or fields I recommend

his books ' A Sting in the Tale' and 'A Buzz in the Meadow'. 

Any old fashioned flowers will attract and feed your local bee population,

lavender, heartsease, marigolds, foxgloves, poppies, borage, aquilegia,
anise hyssop and echium to mention just a few. 

My sunflowers are just beginning to flower, the bumble bees love these, 

but it is no good growing the pollenless varieties.

 

 

 

In New Zealand our honey and bumble bees are all introduced but we do have

native bees as well.  They are predominately found in the bush feeding on

our native tree and plant blossoms.

 

Frances Jill Studd website

Midnight Collective

 

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2016

 



Preying Mantis from New Zealand

A New Zealand Preying Mantis

 

I spotted some newly hatched preying mantis running around on our front wall,

they are very tiny maybe just over 1cm long.  I was most pleased to see the egg

case nearby though as it showed that it was a native mantis and not one of the

slightly larger ones which now seem to dominate.  I believe that these intruders

come from South America and entice our local males to mate and become

eaten leaving no offspring.

The egg cases of the foreign ones are bigger and much more untidy and are

often seen around our wall as well, it must be a favourably warm spot although

there is no vegetation closeby.

 

 

Here is one baby much larger than actual size.

 

 

And another.

 

 

And here is the egg case.

 

 

 

Frances Jill Studd website

Midnight Collective blogspot

 

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2016

 

 

 

 

 

A Christmas Angel from New Zealand

A Christmas Angel

 

 

This is a painting called Mt Tarawera, it is composed of pieces from several famous works,

paintings and architectural.  The angel is from the 'Personification of Fame' by Bernardo Strozzi,

Mt Tarawera from 'The Phantom Canoe on Lake Tarawera' by Kennett Watkins, both of which

are shown above The Arch of Titus in Paris. 

When I made this painting and collage in 1990 I used many appropriated images pieced together

for my work,  now, so many years later, I feel as if I had a bit of a cheek.

However I still like this work and I like the angel, so here she is to wish everyone

who views my blogs a very Happy Christmas.

 

 

Mt Tarawera is a famous mountain in the North Island of New Zealand,

in 1886 it erupted with such force that a chasm was made across the whole mountain. It buried

the local landscape and villages in ash, about 120 people lost their lives and the

Pink and White Terraces a tourist attraction on the mountainside were completely destroyed.

Kennett Watkins made a painting of a phantom canoe which was seen on Lake Tarawera

the day before the mountain erupted and which is now believed to have been a

warning of the devastation which was to follow.  It can be seen in the top

right of this painting with the moon behind.

 

Frances Jill Studd website

Midnight Collective Blog

 

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2015

 

 



November Wild Garden Painting from New Zealand

A November Painting from My Garden

 

 

This is the latest painting from my garden.  I love to see the bees and birds fliting

 about so it is hardly a manicured or managed planting.  Made in three

panels this work shows some of the plants now flowering.

 

 

 

 

As a contrast here is a photo of part of my actual garden.  When I was training at art school

one lecturer gave us some advice about painting from the natural world  'always take a small  

thing from the large, do not attempt to make the whole thing small'

I try to remember this.

 

 

Frances Jill Studd website

Midnight Collective Blog

 

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2015