When I’m in Mildura I never fail to visit
Collins Bookshop, where I never fail to find at least one exceptional
reference book. This time I really stuck gold: THE BOOK OF BEETLES A Lifesize
Guide to Six Hundred of Nature’s Gems, edited by Patrice Bouchard and published
by Ivy Press. The illustrations (at least those that aren’t too severely cropped) are of superlative quality. A case in point is Actinus imperialis,
which features on page 182. Seduced by its science fiction Technicolour weirdness, the Doctor Frankenstein in me lost no time in transforming it into
the equally lurid Actinus imperialis Beetle Woman. (See also previous Blog Post Wednesday, November 17: New Beginnings).
Pictured below: transformative stages of Actinus imperialis Beetle Woman, 2014, watercolour on Khadi paper, 41.91 x 29.72 cm.
