Tags
bee, butterfly, dragonfly, insect, monarch, Morton Arboretum, nature, nature art, photography, pleinair, prairie, sketch, sketchbook
After missing two weeks due to our Sweden trip, I returned to the prairie to find rampant growth, gorgeous flowers and radiant heat. Some of my favorite prairie flowers are blooming now including the prairie clovers, coneflowers and milkweeds. They attract lots of bees and butterflies between the three of them. I just loved the yellow-green of the prairie grass behind the prairie clovers, so of course, I had to sketch them! Enjoy!
Unhappy red-winged blackbird © 2018 Karen A Johnson
Unknown © 2018 Karen A Johnson
Bee © 2018 Karen A Johnson
Coneflowers 2 © 2018 Karen A Johnson
Leadplant © 2018 Karen A Johnson
Monarch on milkweed © 2018 Karen A Johnson
Unknown © 2018 Karen A Johnson
Prairie clover © 2018 Karen A Johnson
Prairie color2 © 2018 Karen A Johnson
Male bumblebee © 2018 Karen A Johnson
Coming in for a landing © 2018 Karen A Johnson
White prairie clover © 2018 Karen A Johnson
Widow skimmer © 2018 Karen A Johnson
Prairie clover sketch
© 2018 Karen A Johnson
Karen's Nature Art 
Absolutely wonderful!
Thanks, DT!
Beautiful photos and painting. I love the bee coming in for a landing on the Cone flower, and the dragon fly…WOW! Did you use a telephoto for this one, They are hard to capture both photographically and as a specimen for my entomology class, with those large eyes! The prairie clover reminds me of my blooming lavender plant.
Thanks, OC! It’s actually a robber fly coming in for a landing. They mimic bumblebees and are predators of the bees as well. And yes, I did use a telephoto lens for most of these pics-70-300mm
Absolutely beautiful, Karen! I love your sketch of the Prairie Clovers and the shots of the prairie flowers and insects are fabulous!
Thanks, Clare! By the end of the time it was getting quite warm and humid…
Nice photos, its really heating up here too. Close to 100 the hottest I’ve ever seen it up here.
Ugh, that is hot!
Love this! Thank you so much, Karen! 😀
Thanks, Resa! I’m in prairie mode this summer!
Love the prairies!!