"Birds Flying High..."

Hello Lovelies!

 photo, my own. (c) Lipson 2011.

I'm out of the hospital and free as a bird! Finally ready to blog and post here photos and scans of my latest drawings.




Talk soon,
-Vic from TeaButterfly.

Hello Lovelies,

Still in hospital but in a great mood. So i wanted to share with you this fun triptych :

1. Cyanotype, 2. Submerge., 3. USA-California / Cup of Steam

Please visit the original pics and have fun!

-Vic from TeaButterfly.

Moth Vibration! ...and Happy Friday!

Hello Lovelies,

 drawing of moth - mixed media, (c) 2011 by Lipson.

Just when I was about to leave home for hospital this last Wednesday, I opened my letterbox, just to check in, and I found an amazing moth ( a butterfly that lives at night and seeks dark places like the inside of a letterbox).
It hopped right on my hand and started vibrating intensely... I wonder what this vibration meant fear for his life? fear of daylight? or just the sheer vibration of life? In any case, it was amazing!

Just as i tried to reach for my camera without frigntening him too much, he took flight! But I drew him afterwards, for you to see...

Happy Friday everyone! I will rest and stroll in the Magic Park. What about you?

-Vic from TeaButterfly

The Magic Park

Hi there,

This is Vic from TeaButterfly speaking from the hospital. Now forget what you know about hospitals. This one's special. It is set in a beautiful old, decaying palace with a great big park with a magical atmosphere, moss-covered statues everywhere, the hospital's cats napping in the sun, and koi fish swimming in an old pond. Recent additions include fountains and the water murmur in the morning while you stroll there is most uplifting.

The whole place is so picturesque, it is sure to lift one's spirit and and a quick cure is sure to happen soon. I've been taking lots of photos and will show you a selection when i'm back.

I've also taken my black ink and my brushes with me and i've been drawing this morning, so more to come art-wise.

Talk to you lovelies soon,
-Vic

Pale September

Hello Lovelies!

autumn still life with books - source : http://pinterest.com/pin/100460524/

September is one of my favorites months, down here in the South of France, it's like a long Indian summer, with bright light and just a hint of crispness in the air. Just lovely!

Unfortunately this bright september has turned a bit pale for me, for I've been ill lately and will need to go to a health clinic for a few days.

But at the end of the day, I remind myself that "Pale September" is one of my fave songs by fiona Apple. So here goes:

-Vic from TeaButterfly.

The Life of Tropical Butterflies

Hello Lovelies!

 Tropical butterflies at the Detroit Zoo. via the "obsession with butterflies" site.

No TV At Home.

I don't have a TV at home, but I'm staying at a friend's right now and just saw a very interesting documentary on the life of tropical butterflies. And you know me, I'm crazy about butterflies!
This particular program was broadcasted by ARTE, the German-French TV. You can re-play this "X:enius" program here for a few days (in French and German).

photo found via Dominique's Browning's blog, Slow Love Life. No, wait! Dominique has indeed mentioned her love for caterpillars on her fantastic blog, but this particular image is via the jjjjound.com blog.

The Appetite of the Caterpillar.

One thing that really struck me, watching this program, was the caterpillars' huge appetite, for fresh leaves and for life! Maybe thats why they're called caterpillars, with cater like in catering? I'll have to check in a dictionary. But what I witnessed was the caterpillars' - of any species - huge growth, literally within days, following that massive eating of leaves.

Image from the program X:enius on ARTE TV

But Not Just Any Leaves... 

Most butterfly species feed on a specific herb, leaf or plant. That's what makes them so fragile. Hunters and collectors of exotic butterflies don't seem as much as a big threat as deforestation is, or the disappearance of a given environment.
Caterpillars are hungry indeed, but most times they would rather die than eat another leaf than the one they're used to eat! So if a given forest, with the given plants and trees that grow there, disappear, the butterflies disappear with their environment. Just another reason to protect tropical forests and wildlife!

 Funky Caterpillars, a triptych made of three of my Flickr faves.
1. Chenille de Bombyx à livrée (Malacosoma neustria) The Lackey caterpillar, 2. la chenille ne tient qu'a un fil, 3. Chenille Machaon (Papilio machaon) Swallowtail Caterpillar

Butterflies in Your Garden.

So you'd like to preserve butterflies and have plenty of them in your surroundings? That's quite simple really. You can either grow specific butterfly-attracting plants like the famous buddleia. Or you could simply let nature do the hard work and leave a small part of you garden unweeded. Yes! Grow weeds! "Weeds", or whatever plants grow naturally in your soil, are the most likely to attract the butterflies that would naturally develop there. Just wonderful, and simple!

-Vic from TeaButterfly.

buddleia !

Winks & Pins

Sorry Lovelies!

My lavender country - photo by Lipson (c) 2011.

I had the chance to leave for a long week-end in the nearby countryside (see photo) so grabbed my bags and that didn't leave me the time to say goodbye on Friday!

Now that Monday has come (and I wish you a very nice one) I thought it was timely to share some winks (or week-end links).

You know by now that Jane's blog is one of my faves in the blogosphere... I also appreciate Diana's, aka Miss Moss. I think she is right about Pinterest, it can be addictive and interesting to sort images you are interested in, (I also started to use it in order to track where the images I use on my blog come from, instead of just apologizing and saying "photo source unknown") BUT in the long run - or soon enough - you can also discover that a lot of pins are annoying and even offensive. I try to follow like-minded peole, and when a board of theirs does not interest me (say, if it's about their private life, their wedding, or comprises too many cute babies pictures), I just unfollow said boards. No hard feelings towards cute babies, but seeing too many of them is not my cup of tea. I'm also not getting married anytime soon, so the reminder can become an itch.

And now to a new blog I've just discovered, and like a lot. Sorry, it's about home improvement again (one of my hobbies) but it's drool-worthy. It's called "A Roof and Four Walls", and that's really an understatement about the lovely house that is being renovated and decorated by the writer of this blog. Very much to my taste.

Check out Inklore's blog, too. I love Samantha's works and prints, and she has a lovely blog with short, fun and informative posts. Writing briefly is not my forte, but maybe' I should work on it. Like the aim should be: more posts, but shorter ones. We all lead busy lives!

Happy reading, and talk to you soon,

-Vic from TeaButterfly.