Ophrys apifera

June 22nd, 2012 § 1,798 comments § permalink

Roots dig into Odette’s body

Odile is blooming from the beauty of Odette as the orchid imitates the figure of a female bee.

This is my second painting in a series I am working on. You can find the first one and a more thorough description of the theme by clicking here!

-Christie

Off The Map

June 19th, 2012 § 1,229 comments § permalink

The very cool and charming ladies at OTM Webzine curate young Toronto artists in fashion, music, film, poetry, photography, art and illustration! This beautiful online indie magazine publishes quarterly and I am so honoured to be featured in their latest issue, Issue 12: Be Here!

Click here to jump to the article I screen-shot above!

Thank-you to Tara, Aimee, Natalie and Jasper for having me! 🙂

-Christie

The Next Generation

June 13th, 2012 § 1,069 comments § permalink

Hello Jello!

577 Mount Pleasant Road, between Eglinton and Davisville

This Thursday (June 14) is the opening night of a group show I am participating in at Canadian Fine Arts Gallery (577 Mount Pleasant Road, Toronto, Ontario, M4S 2M5). Yayy!!! The exhibition is called “The Next Generation”, and you can find the image above published on the first page of Slate Art Gallery Guide.

Hope you can make it! Gold eyed fox will be there! The show will be up until June 24.

-Christie

Von Evolution

June 1st, 2012 § 867 comments § permalink

In Swan Lake, the evil Von Rothbart tricks Prince Siegfried into proclaiming his love for a black swan disguised as his true love, Odette. Such deception and powerful disguise seem otherworldly or from a folktale, but in truth these themes are real in the animal world. Ophrys apifera successfully reproduces through pseudocopulation, as the orchid resembles a female bee with such precision that the male is fooled into copulating with the orchid, which then enables the flower to pollinate. It is a scientific name for that dark magic, tricking little prince bees into professing their love to the wrong girl (or species!).

The bluebird is another victim of the dark side of evolution. The cowbird lays its egg in a bluebird’s nest and because the cowbird’s egg resembles the bluebird’s, the bluebird mother nurtures this parasite has her own. When the chicks are hatched, the cowbird enthusiastically begs for food and grows rapidly (what’s also very interesting is that cowbirds don’t imprint). The bluebird mother is deceived and burdened while the cowbird goes off and lays 50 or more eggs.

-Christie