common blue male– allotment bristol – gouache & wax crayon – c. A5

There were only three blues on the meadow, a male and female common along with the brown argus. I decided to give more time to the common blues as my understanding of the ‘benchmark’ species still seemed woolly. Brain struggling to take in the subtleties of form at the same time as retaining the bold pattern…. All those spots and dashes that have a strong dynamism of their own patterned onto the interlocking fanned clam shell wings. As the wings open the hind wing must make some kind of arc to lay back and out… slightly mind bending to accommodate the shifting position of the spots in that process.

common blue female – allotment bristol – gouache & wax crayon – c. A4

common blue female – allotment bristol – gouache & wax crayon – c. A5

common blue male – allotment bristol – gouache & wax crayon – c. A5