Saturday, February 16, 2008

The Scarab





The Scarab... or Dung Beetle, was one of the most powerful symbols of Ancient Egypt.

Chalcosoma Atlas ... is one of 3 known species in eastern Asia. The males of the species have horns, which they use to grapple with each other when fighting over females.... Feisty little fellows....







The Scarab known as Plusiotis Resplendens is found in central America.... Their brilliant coloration has made them a much sought after insect by bug collectors. I guess this is The one time to hide your light under a basket, little golden one!

Because of their habit of rolling balls of dung, the scarab represented to the Egyptians, the God of the Morning Sun, Khephri... believing it symbolized the sun rolling across the sky.



...these are tiny watercolors only about 1½" x 2½" on 140 lb arches watercolor paper using india ink, pen, brush , watercolor.
Created at Desideratum Art and Jewelry Studio, St. Martins, New Brunswick, Canada

4 comments:

David Berube BerubeArt said...

I was just talking abt. scarab's an hour ago, crazy?!!!

Gwen Buchanan said...

Hey David, Don't you know, great minds think alike but fools never differ...haha... just joking.
I really love these bugs too. Strange to love bugs but we are only larger versions in the greater scale of things... aren't we.

Anonymous said...

Hi Gwen, your pen and ink/watercolor washes are really beautiful! I'm not much of a painter, so I really appreciate someone else's ability... and I love the name you gave your blog... hadn't thought about that poem from my teenaged years in a long, long time... great play on words there. Glad I stumbled onto your site (through Seth's Altered Page), it's really lovely. All my best, K.

Gwen Buchanan said...

Thanks so much Kathy, I just go by feel. Sometimes I go too far & sometimes I stop in time.
I love the "Desiderata" too... it has a kind of calming effect & makes me happy too.
Words can really make a difference in our emotional state.
I'm glad you came over, gwen