A dead honeybee in an empty space. With its clumped hair from a rain. It legs are twisted, and its wings fold in the background.

I was in college when I drew this, It took many hours to finish back then. This was one of my first hyper realistic drawings, it fits somewhere between scientific illustration and a narrative work.

My grandfather keeps bees. I only got stung once, and it was between my toes. I grew up running barefoot watching my step for them. You start to appreciate a lot of things when you look for them.

Without bees we lose many plants that rely on pollinators, so we need to protect them. Pesticides, the Varroa mite, disease, and habitat loss are currently threatening the bee population.

The other photos are of my grandfather’s beehives, his workshop, and him in his field. He is the hardest worker I’ve ever known and was one of the forces that inspired my love of art and making.