Dragonfly Painting

How to capture the intricate beauty of a Dragonfly 

According to Wikipedia...it is an insect of the Order Odonata and the suborder Anisopters....from the Greek language  Anisos meaning "uneven" and pteron meaning "wing".

                                                                                Image from Blog "Growing with Science"

Like many people I am fascinated by Dragonflies: from their overall beauty, to their flight patterns and of course capturing that perfect close up image through photography or paint.

 Here are a few pictures taken while walking along the bike path here in Temiscaming, QC. I am not much of a photographer but I was happy to capture a close up image.  So this was the image that inspired a painting.



I started with a palette knife abstract background.

Next was to block in the Dragonfly. I wasn't sure exactly how to capture the intricate pattern of the wings without drawing it in detail. I chose to do  a simpler pattern although in actuality it almost should look like a bee hive pattern.    

Next was to work on the body. My photo was not detailed enough to really capture the finer details but I was more concerned about the overall appearance and that it appeared  somewhat accurate but not full realism. 

The stick, although in the photo, wasn't working in the painting for me. maybe in a different painting , so I chose to paint over and remove it.  

  

This is the final painting.  I like the wings and the body. and the final image is a close up of the Dragonfly. The overall painting is 10 " x 20". 

Have a wonderful day!