This carpenter(?) bee was so busy feasting and gorging on the pollen of a butterfly bush that I was able to photograph it for quite some time...closely too.

Not only does photographing our 'smaller' world provide an 'eye' to its physical make-up, provide reference use in other art forms...it also provides an appreciation, a respect for life living alongside ours.
It's also not a bad way to wile away the day.

This photo was my inspiration and reference for the painting below.