The original is watercolour in my Moleskine 200gsm Garden Journal

Even thou who mournst the daisy’s fate,
That fate is thine—no distant date;
Stern Ruin’s ploughshare drives, elate, Full on thy bloom,
Till crushed beneath the furrow’s weight
Shall be thy doom!
Author: Robert Burns

My Shasta Daisies in my garden (Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa) have now been over-taken by the weeds and I decided to do one last sketch before I trim them down for the winter. Come Spring, they will once again bloom in abundance, and be home to the white Crab Spider, which changes its colour depending on the colour of the flower it is sitting on.

Crab spiders are not active hunters. They make use of camouflage techniques and remain quite still until the prey arrives and then catch it. With a poisonous bite (not dangerous to humans) they kill their prey and suck it dry. Every season I love inspecting the daisies close-up, seeing how many I can find on a bush. I also refrain from watering the daisies with a hose pipe from the top in case I drown them!

1. 22nd September 2010 – FEATURED in Anything & Everything
2. 10th September 2011 – FEATURED in Artists Universe
3. 18th December 2011 – FEATURED in Quality Art & Photography
4. 21st December 2011 – DeeZ 5 C’s AWARD
5. 8th April 2012 – FEATURED in DeeZ 5 C’s Award Showcase
6. 24th August 2012 – FEATURED in Artists of Still Life
7. 7th October 2012 – FEATURED in Woman Painters

Read more about Crab Spiders

See also Shasta Daisies below :

See also Daisies in the rain below:

See also Daisies in my garden below :