Field Song

36 in x 36in, Oil, acrylic, ink and graphite on canvas

Heather flower reaches up to the sky with her leggy roots. Heather flowers commonly mean good luck, admiration, and protection. A monarch butterfly, caterpillar and honey bee all move towards a joe-pye (milkweed) flower, which is extremely aromatic (smelling similar to vanilla), and attracts bees and plenty of other pollinators including hummingbird moths. Shadows of weeds and other leggy plants create background images but the star of the show remains the monarch butterfly.

Researchers estimate that 970 million monarchs have vanished since 1990. There are a number of threats to monarch butterflies including habitat loss, climate change and agricultural pesticide use that is reducing milkweed populations. Planting milkweed in your garden can help to save monarchs so that they have continuous food along their migration to Mexico each year.