Vanishing II (Rusty Patched Bumblebee) by Holly Downing

Vanishing II (Rusty Patched Bumblebee) by Holly Downing

Vanishing II (Rusty Patched Bumblebee)

Holly Downing

Title

Vanishing II (Rusty Patched Bumblebee)

 
Artist

Holly Downing

  1948 - PRESENT (biography)
Year
2019  
Technique
mezzotint with hand applied color 
Image Size
2 15/16 x 2 15/16" platemark 
Signature
pencil, lower right 
Edition Size
1 of 25  
Annotations
pencil titled and dated in lower margin 
Reference
 
Paper
antique-white Rives BFK 
State
published 
Publisher
artist 
Inventory ID
HD215 
Price
SOLD
Description

In her ongoing series dedicated to vanishing flora and fauna, Holly Downing has created a collection of small mezzotints in partial color to honor the disappearing native insect life of the United States. Partially to bring awareness to their plight, and partially to pay homage to beauty that is often overlooked in our fast paced lives, Downing homes in on the small, delicate species we are on the brink of losing.

The Rusty Patch Bumblebee - bombus affinis - is native to the Midwestern and upper eastern United States and lower eastern Canada. In the United States alone their terrain used to include twenty-eight states, mostly those that were a part of the massive swath of prairie that spread from northern Mexico to Canada. Since 2000, however, their terrain has shrunk to just thirteen states, due to rapidly disappearing habitat owing to suburban sprawl and other forms of development. The Rusty Patch, like all bumblebees, are integral to a healthy ecosystem. Unlike the honeybee, which is not native to the U.S., they play a singularly important role in the propagation and survival of native plants, which make up the microclimates and unique terrains needed to support all life. The bumblebee is a small thing, yet plays such an important role on the planet.