Polygonia comma

Often I sketch from the day’s occasional photos in my journal. Which means I have a lot of insect sketches in my journal.

Here is one such sketch from today.

I usually make my sketches as, well, sketches. That is, I don’t try to make them perfect. Rather, I try to make them quickly.

This one was done with a Pilot kaküno fountain pen and some colored pencils.

I keep a mix of colored pencils in my art bag, and I treat them much as I treat the flies in my fishing vest: while it is lovely to “match the hatch” and have the perfect tool, there’s something good about using what you have ready at hand, and not worrying about perfection.

A detailed colored sketch of a Polygonia comma eastern comma butterfly is drawn on lined paper, with handwritten notes indicating the species name, location, and date.