Insect drawings from this year

Artwork © by John Lechner

The year has flown by, and I haven’t posted on this website much. So I wanted to share some of my ink drawings from October (#inktober), when I did a new drawing every day of a different insect. I used the list of daily prompts by artist Jake Parker, which included words like swift, poison, crooked, graceful, all words that can be applied to insects in some way (though often it was a stretch.) 

Some of the drawings were faithful reproductions, some were turned into cartoons or stories. I tried to highlight the main characteristics of each insect, and I learned a lot in the process. Below are just a few of the drawings, which I also posted to my Twitter account

In other news for 2017, I didn’t publish any new books this year, but I’ve been doing a lot of writing. Hopefully I’ll have more news to share soon. I’ve also been posting a lot of nature photos over on my Instagram page, which you can see here

That’s all for now, hope you all have a wonderful and creative new year!

Artwork © by John Lechner

The cinnabar moth caterpillar eats ragwort, absorbing its toxins which make it poisonous to predators. 

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Artwork © by John Lechner

My #inktober drawing for the word underwater, featuring the predaceous diving beetle.

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Artwork © by John Lechner

The rhinoceros beetles fight using their horns like swords.

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Artwork © by John Lechner

My #inktober drawing for the word shy, featuring a couple of roly poly bugs.

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Artwork © by John Lechner

A screech owl is looking for a snack, moths beware! 

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Artwork © by John Lechner

Not only is the Atlas Moth gigantic, its wing designs look like snakes to fool predators (or unsuspecting crickets!) 

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Artwork © by John Lechner

The Australian tiger beetle can run faster than any other insect, including the speedy American cockroach.

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Artwork © by John Lechner

A praying mantis can be fierce and mysterious as it prowls around the garden. 

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Artwork © by John Lechner

For day 18 of #inktober here are a couple dung beetles having a blast.

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Artwork © by John Lechner

Insects who live deep inside caves are nearly blind, like this tiny Troglocladius hajdi

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Artwork © by John Lechner

Wasps and hornets get furious when a bear attacks their nest, but the bear doesn’t seem to mind!

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New art, new projects

Froggy Garden - by John Lechner

I’ve been working on all sorts of things lately, with not much time for blogging. I’ve got a novel in the works, and a few other projects brewing. Not much to show, but here are a few watercolors I did earlier this year, part of a series of monochromatic paintings I showed in the spring. They are all very small, close to the size you see here, experiments in light and shadow using different kinds of paper.

This weekend (Dec. 1 & 2) I’m participating in a Holiday Open Studio at the Gorse Mill Studios in Needham, MA. Stop by and say hello!

I also recently started playing with Pinterest, and set up a board especially for parents and teachers with activities from my books.

That’s all for now — time to get back to work!

Girl With the Box - by John Lechner

 

Raking Leaves - by John Lechner

 

Twisted Trees by John Lechner