More painting, with help from butterflies

I did a  few small experiments using Arches hotpress paper, very smooth, lovely surface, very expensive, very unforgiving.  It's better for me as a drawing surface, but every now and then I like to try painting.  

These may become printed on silk organza, to be layered into other artworks.  Or sit in a portfolio. All depending.   

And after a convo with a friend last evening, I thought you might like to see the sum total of my painting gear.  Here.  Plus paper not in the picture

I take it all out with me, since there's not much, and these brushes have served me well for years and years.  In fact the round one is beginning to wear out, too bad, since the handle is just right for me.  I often use the blunt end to mark into the wet paint, interesting effects.  And the pilot pen is always with me.  

The busted open tube is aureolin yellow, which had dried in the tube, so I cut it open and went right on using it.  You did know you could do that, right? no need to toss expensive tube watercolors if they've gone hard.  They're still viable, if a bit dryer.

The day being beautiful, perfect walking weather, I went out after I'd painted and set up some bread to rise.  And on the way home, I saw a couple of these:

Great Spangled Fritillaries, they are!  sounds like a curse from a fairytale, but they are wonderful to see.  Very fast flyers, not possible to get a pic, even if I'd been ready, which, full disclosure, I was not.  The image on the page is about lifesize, approximately 3 plus inches across.

However, I would like very much to use a similar sort of image somewhere in the near future...  The two I saw were zooming about near the woods, over damp grass, where violets grow, all in perfect accord with what the butterfly book says they should.  So I guess they're also good students.