Botanical Fine Art Painting, Butterfly, Nature "POLYDAMAS BUTTERFLY & ARISTOLOCHIA GIGANTEA" The Art of Nature, Fine Art by Mindy Lighthipe

 

Art by Mindy Lighthipe,Swallowtail butterflies are in the United States as well as in Central America. The Polydamus Butterfly is in the Swallowtail family and is found in Florida as well as in Central America. It feeds on the very peculiar plant family of pipevines. The plant depicted here has a flower the size of a baseball glove, thus the latin name- gigantea. The flowers act as a trap for unsuspecting small insects which fly into the "mouth" of the flower, travel down the throat of the flower and then are trapped at the bottom of the chamber. Here they are dissolved into the plants membrane. Once the flower is dead, a huge seed pod is formed which splits open spraying the seeds to the ground. Once the seeds germinate more shoots will climb in a profusion of  intermingling vines. The female Polydamus lays her eggs on this plant and the caterpillars  eat the leaves as well as the flowers. The caterpillar pupates and uses a thin filament or support to attach itself to a stem. The chrysalis looks like a twig or a rock climber attaching himself to the side of a cliff! 

24"x20" Watercolor on Paper/Available

$2000  Click HERE to purchase.

View Mindy's Class Schedule HERE

http://mindylighthipefineart.com

http://mindylighthipe.com

Mindy's BOOK by Quarto Books is available on Amazon  HERE

Botanical Fine Art Painting, Butterfly,Nature "POLYDAMAS BUTTERFLY & ARISTOLOCHIA GIGANTEA" The Art of Nature, Fine Art by Mindy Lighthipe

Art by Mindy Lighthipe,Swallowtail butterflies are in the United States as well as in Central America. The Polydamus Butterfly is in the Swallowtail family and is found in Florida as well as in Central America. It feeds on the very peculiar plant family of pipevines. The plant depicted here has a flower the size of a baseball glove, thus the latin name- gigantea. The flowers act as a trap for unsuspecting small insects which fly into the "mouth" of the flower, travel down the throat of the flower and then are trapped at the bottom of the chamber. Here they are dissolved into the plants membrane. Once the flower is dead, a huge seed pod is formed which splits open spraying the seeds to the ground. Once the seeds germinate more shoots will climb in a profusion of  intermingling vines. The female Polydamus lays her eggs on this plant and the caterpillars  eat the leaves as well as the flowers. The caterpillar pupates and uses a thin filament or support to attach itself to a stem. The chrysalis looks like a twig or a rock climber attaching himself to the side of a cliff! 

24"x20" Watercolor on Paper/Available

$2000  Click HERE to purchase.

View Mindy's Class Schedule HERE

http://mindylighthipefineart.com

http://mindylighthipe.com

Mindy's BOOK by Quarto Books is available on Amazon  HERE

Botanical Fine Art Painting "RED PEONIES, ANTS AND A RED ADMIRAL" The Art of Nature, Fine Art by Mindy Lighthipe

I love Peonies! Years ago I planted about a dozen or so of them in the fall in my garden. When spring came the following year I couldn't wait for the flowers to bloom. To my dismay I saw all the beautiful flower buds covered in ants. Drat! I thought they were going to eat the flowers and I would end up with just stems. I did some research to find out what kind of insecticide I should spray on the plants only to find that the flowers would not bloom without the ants! Really? Yes, really! The flower buds are covered in a sticky sugar which attracts the ants to the flower. The ants collect and "clean" off the sticky substance allowing the flower to bloom in all its' glory.  How cool is that! This is how this painting was born. The Ants go Marching!!!!

24"x20" Watercolor on Paper/Available

$2000  Click HERE to purchase.

View Mindy's available Fine Art Reproductions HERE

View Mindy's Class Schedule HERE

Costa Rica Art Tour with Mindy in 2020- Learn More HERE

http://MindyLighthipe.com
http://MindyLighthipeFineArt.com

Follow Mindy on facebook
Follow Mindy on Pinterest
Follow Mindy on Instagram

LEARN TO DRAW AND PAINT ONLINE with Mindy, details HERE

Mindy's a new BOOK by Quarto Books is now available on Amazon  HERE

Botanical Fine Art Painting "RED PEONIES, ANTS AND A RED ADMIRAL" The Art of Nature, Fine Art by Mindy Lighthipe

I love Peonies! Years ago I planted about a dozen or so of them in the fall in my garden. When spring came the following year I couldn't wait for the flowers to bloom. To my dismay I saw all the beautiful flower buds covered in ants. Drat! I thought they were going to eat the flowers and I would end up with just stems. I did some research to find out what kind of insecticide I should spray on the plants only to find that the flowers would not bloom without the ants! Really? Yes, really! The flower buds are covered in a sticky sugar which attracts the ants to the flower. The ants collect and "clean" off the sticky substance allowing the flower to bloom in all its' glory.  How cool is that! This is how this painting was born. The Ants go Marching!!!!

24"x20" Watercolor on Paper/Available

$2000  Click HERE to purchase.

View Mindy's available Fine Art Reproductions HERE

View Mindy's Class Schedule HERE

http://MindyLighthipe.com
http://MindyLighthipeFineArt.com

Follow Mindy on facebook
Follow Mindy on Pinterest
Follow Mindy on Instagram

LEARN TO DRAW AND PAINT ONLINE with Mindy, details HERE

Mindy's a new BOOK by Quarto Books is now available on Amazon  HERE

Botanical Fine Art Painting "RED PEONIES, ANTS AND A RED ADMIRAL" The Art of Nature, Fine Art by Mindy Lighthipe

I love Peonies! Years ago I planted about a dozen or so of them in the fall in my garden. When spring came the following year I couldn't wait for the flowers to bloom. To my dismay I saw all the beautiful flower buds covered in ants. Drat! I thought they were going to eat the flowers and I would end up with just stems. I did some research to find out what kind of insecticide I should spray on the plants only to find that the flowers would not bloom without the ants! Really? Yes, really! The flower buds are covered in a sticky sugar which attracts the ants to the flower. The ants collect and "clean" off the sticky substance allowing the flower to bloom in all its' glory.  How cool is that! This is how this painting was born. The Ants go Marching!!!!

24"x20" Watercolor on Paper/Available

$2000  Click HERE to purchase.

View Mindy's available Fine Art Reproductions HERE

View Mindy's Class Schedule HERE

http://MindyLighthipe.com
http://MindyLighthipeFineArt.com

Follow Mindy on facebook
Follow Mindy on Pinterest
Follow Mindy on Instagram

LEARN TO DRAW AND PAINT ONLINE with Mindy, details HERE

Mindy's a new BOOK by Quarto Books is now available on Amazon  HERE

Botanical Fine Art Painting, Butterfly,Nature "POLYDAMAS BUTTERFLY & ARISTOLOCHIA GIGANTEA" The Art of Nature, Fine Art by Mindy Lighthipe

Art by Mindy Lighthipe,Swallowtail butterflies are in the United States as well as in Central America. The Polydamus Butterfly is in the Swallowtail family and is found in Florida as well as in Central America. It feeds on the very peculiar plant family of pipevines. The plant depicted here has a flower the size of a baseball glove, thus the latin name- gigantea. The flowers act as a trap for unsuspecting small insects which fly into the "mouth" of the flower, travel down the throat of the flower and then are trapped at the bottom of the chamber. Here they are dissolved into the plants membrane. Once the flower is dead, a huge seed pod is formed which splits open spraying the seeds to the ground. Once the seeds germinate more shoots will climb in a profusion of  intermingling vines. The female Polydamus lays her eggs on this plant and the caterpillars  eat the leaves as well as the flowers. The caterpillar pupates and uses a thin filament or support to attach itself to a stem. The chrysalis looks like a twig or a rock climber attaching himself to the side of a cliff! 

24"x20" Watercolor on Paper/Available

$2000  Click HERE to purchase.

View Mindy's available Fine Art Reproductions HERE

View Mindy's Class Schedule HERE

http://MindyLighthipe.com
http://MindyLighthipeFineArt.com

m/costa-rica-tour/">HERE for details!!

Botanical Fine Art Painting "RED PEONIES, ANTS AND A RED ADMIRAL" The Art of Nature, Fine Art by Mindy Lighthipe

I love Peonies! Years ago I planted about a dozen or so of them in the fall in my garden. When spring came the following year I couldn't wait for the flowers to bloom. To my dismay I saw all the beautiful flower buds covered in ants. Drat! I thought they were going to eat the flowers and I would end up with just stems. I did some research to find out what kind of insecticide I should spray on the plants only to find that the flowers would not bloom without the ants! Really? Yes, really! The flower buds are covered in a sticky sugar which attracts the ants to the flower. The ants collect and "clean" off the sticky substance allowing the flower to bloom in all its' glory.  How cool is that! This is how this painting was born. The Ants go Marching!!!!

24"x20" Watercolor on Paper/Available

$2000  Click HERE to purchase.

View Mindy's available Fine Art Reproductions HERE

View Mindy's Class Schedule HERE

http://MindyLighthipe.com
http://MindyLighthipeFineArt.com

Botanical Fine Art Painting, Butterfly,Nature "POLYDAMAS BUTTERFLY & ARISTOLOCHIA GIGANTEA" The Art of Nature, Fine Art by Mindy Lighthipe

Art by Mindy Lighthipe,Swallowtail butterflies are in the United States as well as in Central America. The Polydamus Butterfly is in the Swallowtail family and is found in Florida as well as in Central America. It feeds on the very peculiar plant family of pipevines. The plant depicted here has a flower the size of a baseball glove, thus the latin name- gigantea. The flowers act as a trap for unsuspecting small insects which fly into the "mouth" of the flower, travel down the throat of the flower and then are trapped at the bottom of the chamber. Here they are dissolved into the plants membrane. Once the flower is dead, a huge seed pod is formed which splits open spraying the seeds to the ground. Once the seeds germinate more shoots will climb in a profusion of  intermingling vines. The female Polydamus lays her eggs on this plant and the caterpillars  eat the leaves as well as the flowers. The caterpillar pupates and uses a thin filament or support to attach itself to a stem. The chrysalis looks like a twig or a rock climber attaching himself to the side of a cliff! 

24"x20" Watercolor on Paper/Available

$2000  Click HERE to purchase.

View Mindy's available Fine Art Reproductions HERE

View Mindy's Class Schedule HERE

http://MindyLighthipe.com
http://MindyLighthipeFineArt.com

Study with Mindy Lighthipe in Costa Rica in 2018!!

                                                Click HERE for details!!

Botanical Fine Art Painting "RED PEONIES, ANTS AND A RED ADMIRAL" The Art of Nature, Fine Art by Mindy Lighthipe

I love Peonies! Years ago I planted about a dozen or so of them in the fall in my garden. When spring came the following year I couldn't wait for the flowers to bloom. To my dismay I saw all the beautiful flower buds covered in ants. Drat! I thought they were going to eat the flowers and I would end up with just stems. I did some research to find out what kind of insecticide I should spray on the plants only to find that the flowers would not bloom without the ants! Really? Yes, really! The flower buds are covered in a sticky sugar which attracts the ants to the flower. The ants collect and "clean" off the sticky substance allowing the flower to bloom in all its' glory.  How cool is that! This is how this painting was born. The Ants go Marching!!!!

24"x20" Watercolor on Paper/Available

$2000  Click HERE to purchase.

View Mindy's available Fine Art Reproductions HERE

View Mindy's Class Schedule HERE

http://MindyLighthipe.com
http://MindyLighthipeFineArt.com

Drawing the Beauty of Nature

Welcome to Drawing the Beauty of Nature with Mindy Lighthipe. The online art classes are designed for artists interested in learning the tradition of accurate drawing and painting found in botanical and natural science art. Each class is carefully developed by Mindy and are progressive to build skills and techniques gradually in the comfort of your own home. The classes average 8 to 12 consecutive weeks, ranging in price from $129 to $179.

The Wonderful World of Watercolor-

In this 12 week class, learn to de-mystify watercolor. This course is designed for anyone who wants to feel at ease with color mixing, making mistakes and learning to fix them, experimenting with different approaches and applications of watercolor. Each week a series of lessons are presented with videos and handouts, templates and assignments to get you painting with control and clarity. The next class is starting: June 14, 2017

Click HERE for details or to REGISTER.

Botanical Fine Art Painting, Butterfly,Nature "POLYDAMAS BUTTERFLY & ARISTOLOCHIA GIGANTEA" The Art of Nature, Fine Art by Mindy Lighthipe

Art by Mindy Lighthipe,Swallowtail butterflies are in the United States as well as in Central America. The Polydamus Butterfly is in the Swallowtail family and is found in Florida as well as in Central America. It feeds on the very peculiar plant family of pipevines. The plant depicted here has a flower the size of a baseball glove, thus the latin name- gigantea. The flowers act as a trap for unsuspecting small insects which fly into the "mouth" of the flower, travel down the throat of the flower and then are trapped at the bottom of the chamber. Here they are dissolved into the plants membrane. Once the flower is dead, a huge seed pod is formed which splits open spraying the seeds to the ground. Once the seeds germinate more shoots will climb in a profusion of  intermingling vines. The female Polydamus lays her eggs on this plant and the caterpillars  eat the leaves as well as the flowers. The caterpillar pupates and uses a thin filament or support to attach itself to a stem. The chrysalis looks like a twig or a rock climber attaching himself to the side of a cliff! 

24"x20" Watercolor on Paper/Available

$2000  Click HERE to purchase.

View Mindy's available Fine Art Reproductions HERE

View Mindy's Class Schedule HERE

http://MindyLighthipe.com
http://MindyLighthipeFineArt.com

Give the Gift of ART this Holiday Season....

These whimsical, charming little art reproductions on canvas make the perfect gifts. They are from my original paintings and are brilliantly colorful! You can buy them individually or they make great groupings. I am offering them this holiday season in 2 sizes: 6" x 6" and 10" x 10". In order to receive them by December 25, 2016 make sure you order no later than December 9, 2016. Shipping is free to the continental USA.

Click HERE to view the entire collection.

Art and Photography Workshop to Costa Rica 


Join Artist Mindy Lighthipe and Photographer Nancy Richmond on an Artistic Adventure Tour to Costa Rica.

March 8 – 17, 2017 

Click HERE to VIEW VIDEO

Check out the video above to see some of the highlights from our 2016 Art & Photography workshop in Costa Rica last year.

Each year our itinerary changes a little bit. The 10 day tour is where the rainforest is our classroom. Learn field sketching, digital photography for all levels. 


Click HERE for details and Itinerary!!

Botanical Fine Art Painting "RED PEONIES, ANTS AND A RED ADMIRAL" The Art of Nature, Fine Art by Mindy Lighthipe

I love Peonies! Years ago I planted about a dozen or so of them in the fall in my garden. When spring came the following year I couldn't wait for the flowers to bloom. To my dismay I saw all the beautiful flower buds covered in ants. Drat! I thought they were going to eat the flowers and I would end up with just stems. I did some research to find out what kind of insecticide I should spray on the plants only to find that the flowers would not bloom without the ants! Really? Yes, really! The flower buds are covered in a sticky sugar which attracts the ants to the flower. The ants collect and "clean" off the sticky substance allowing the flower to bloom in all its' glory.  How cool is that! This is how this painting was born. The Ants go Marching!!!!

24"x20" Watercolor on Paper/Available

$2000  Click HERE to purchase.

View Mindy's available Fine Art Reproductions HERE

View Mindy's Class Schedule HERE

http://MindyLighthipe.com
http://MindyLighthipeFineArt.com

Give the Gift of ART this Holiday Season....

These whimsical, charming little art reproductions on canvas make the perfect gifts. They are from my original paintings and are brilliantly colorful! You can buy them individually or they make great groupings. I am offering them this holiday season in 2 sizes: 6" x 6" and 10" x 10". In order to receive them by December 25, 2016 make sure you order no later than December 9, 2016. Shipping is free to the continental USA.

Click HERE to view the entire collection.

Art and Photography Workshop to Costa Rica 


Join Artist Mindy Lighthipe and Photographer Nancy Richmond on an Artistic Adventure Tour to Costa Rica.

March 8 – 17, 2017 

Click HERE to VIEW VIDEO

Check out the video above to see some of the highlights from our 2016 Art & Photography workshop in Costa Rica last year.

Each year our itinerary changes a little bit. The 10 day tour is where the rainforest is our classroom. Learn field sketching, digital photography for all levels. 


Click HERE for details and Itinerary!!

Botanical Fine Art Painting, Butterfly,Nature "POLYDAMAS BUTTERFLY & ARISTOLOCHIA GIGANTEA" The Art of Nature, Fine Art by Mindy Lighthipe

Art by Mindy Lighthipe,Swallowtail butterflies are in the United States as well as in Central America. The Polydamus Butterfly is in the Swallowtail family and is found in Florida as well as in Central America. It feeds on the very peculiar plant family of pipevines. The plant depicted here has a flower the size of a baseball glove, thus the latin name- gigantea. The flowers act as a trap for unsuspecting small insects which fly into the "mouth" of the flower, travel down the throat of the flower and then are trapped at the bottom of the chamber. Here they are dissolved into the plants membrane. Once the flower is dead, a huge seed pod is formed which splits open spraying the seeds to the ground. Once the seeds germinate more shoots will climb in a profusion of  intermingling vines. The female Polydamus lays her eggs on this plant and the caterpillars  eat the leaves as well as the flowers. The caterpillar pupates and uses a thin filament or support to attach itself to a stem. The chrysalis looks like a twig or a rock climber attaching himself to the side of a cliff! 

24"x20" Watercolor on Paper/Available

$2000  Click HERE to purchase.

View Mindy's available Fine Art Reproductions HERE

View Mindy's Class Schedule HERE

http://MindyLighthipe.com
http://MindyLighthipeFineArt.com

Click HERE to learn about Mindy's FREE video.

View Mindy's available Books HERE

Study With Mindy.....New Online Watercolor Class starting September 21!

I am happy to announce my new online Wonderful World of Watercolor Class will start this fall on September 21, 2016. I want to thank all my fellow artists for the overwhelming success of  my Foundation Drawing and Drawing Plants classes. For the past year I have had requests from all corners of the world asking me to do more online classes. I spent May, June and July designing, painting, shooting and editing this new 12 week class in response to YOUR REQUESTS! It takes me a long time to do this because….. I do it all! …….. Drawing the Beauty of Nature!

Click HERE for Online Class INFO

Study With Mindy in Beautiful Costa Rica
March 8th-17th 2017
Read More HERE

Botanical Fine Art Painting "RED PEONIES, ANTS AND A RED ADMIRAL" The Art of Nature, Fine Art by Mindy Lighthipe

I love Peonies! Years ago I planted about a dozen or so of them in the fall in my garden. When spring came the following year I couldn't wait for the flowers to bloom. To my dismay I saw all the beautiful flower buds covered in ants. Drat! I thought they were going to eat the flowers and I would end up with just stems. I did some research to find out what kind of insecticide I should spray on the plants only to find that the flowers would not bloom without the ants! Really? Yes, really! The flower buds are covered in a sticky sugar which attracts the ants to the flower. The ants collect and "clean" off the sticky substance allowing the flower to bloom in all its' glory.  How cool is that! This is how this painting was born. The Ants go Marching!!!!

24"x20" Watercolor on Paper/Available

$2000  Click HERE to purchase.

View Mindy's available Fine Art Reproductions HERE

View Mindy's Class Schedule HERE

http://MindyLighthipe.com
http://MindyLighthipeFineArt.com

Click HERE to learn about Mindy's FREE video.

View Mindy's available Books HERE

Study With Mindy.....New Online Watercolor Class starting September 21!

I am happy to announce my new online Wonderful World of Watercolor Class will start this fall on September 21, 2016. I want to thank all my fellow artists for the overwhelming success of  my Foundation Drawing and Drawing Plants classes. For the past year I have had requests from all corners of the world asking me to do more online classes. I spent May, June and July designing, painting, shooting and editing this new 12 week class in response to YOUR REQUESTS! It takes me a long time to do this because….. I do it all! …….. Drawing the Beauty of Nature!

Click HERE for Online Class INFO

Study With Mindy in Beautiful Costa Rica
March 8th-17th 2017
Read More HERE