Dragonfly Over Water Lilies

Finding Stillness in Motion

There is a brief, quiet window of time when watching a pond where everything seems to suspend. In developing the piece shown in Dragonfly Over Water Lilies, the objective was not to create a literal photographic record, but rather to capture the weightlessness of a single insect holding its position above the water.

The initial challenge lay in balancing the rapid, gestural lines of the dragonfly against the heavier, layered strokes of the water lilies. Acrylic paint allows for an immediacy that suits this kind of subject. By applying the pale blues and soft pinks with a relatively loose brush, the water begins to take on a reflective quality without requiring meticulous blending. The pale petals of the lily in the foreground are built up with thicker paint, creating a tangible texture that contrasts with the thin, almost transparent marks defining the dragonfly’s wings.

Working on this piece required a deliberate restraint. It is always tempting to add more detail, to define every vein in a wing or every ripple in the pond. However, leaving the background fluid and somewhat abstracted allows the viewer’s eye to settle on the intersection between the insect and the flora. The warm ochres and deep greens at the edges serve to frame the cooler tones of the water, grounding the composition. Ultimately, it is an exploration of how few marks are needed to convey the impression of life moving over a still surface.