A guest blog written by artist and Buglife supporter, Joanna Stump
My earliest memory of my fascination with bugs was the woodlice I tried to keep in a jam jar when I was about five years old. Don’t worry, my mum told me to let them go!
Over the next 49 years, I have watched all David Attenborough programs, studied ‘A’ level biology (which I failed!), and marvelled at all wildlife, nature, and lifecycles.
I have lived in Brackley, Northamptonshire, for the past 14 years and I am now the proud “owner” of around one hundred False Widow Spiders (Steatoda sp.), that have taken up residence in my garden chair box!
I am also an artist, photographer, craftsperson and weaver. I graduated from the Surrey Institute of Art and Design in 1996 with a 2:1 BA Honours Degree in Woven Textiles.
I’m inspired by my passion to protect our natural world and I have, for the past six years, been painting British wildlife.
I try to capture our amazing, varied and yet fragile world, using stars, spirals and sometimes mandala patterns in my acrylic on canvas paintings.
Many artists will paint mammals and birds, just like myself, but I figured that there weren’t so many paintings of bugs; and it was really important to me to celebrate these small creatures that keep our world in balance.
So, I started with the cuddly Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris), then the beautiful female Emperor Moth (Saturnia pavonia) and next the elegant Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator).
Silver on copper (c) Joanna Stump
Velvet on clover (c) Joanna Stump
Emerald on cherry (c) Joanna Stump
I then saw on tv, the cutest spider I had ever seen, the Ladybird Spider (Eresus sandaliatus), and I had to paint him!
Did you know that the Emperor Moth and Ladybird Spider exhibit sexual dimorphism, meaning that males and females are different in appearance? The female Emperor Moth is larger than the male, with slightly different markings, has a paler colour and does not have feathered antennae.
Similarly, the female Ladybird Spider is slightly larger than the male and is a soft velvety black/brown colour, whereas the male’s abdomen is the more vibrant red with black spots, from which the species gets its common name.
My new paintings this month have been the Emerald Moth (Hemithea aestivaria) and the Green Silver-lines (Pseudoips prasinana) moth; both distinctive green moths that can be found across much of the British Isles.
I now want to share these paintings with you and offer you the chance to donate to Buglife at the same time! Each sale of these original paintings, will result in a donation of 20% being made to Buglife.
Let’s decorate our walls with these awesome creatures and help save the small things that run the planet!
To see how you can support Buglife, and other animal charities, through sales of my work, please visit my website: joanna-stump-creations.sumupstore.com
About the author
Joanna is an artist, craftsperson and photographer. She graduated from the Surrey Institute of Art and Design with a BA hons degree in Woven Textiles. On graduation she was awarded a Licentiate of the Society of Designer Craftsmen for five years and exhibited her textiles with the Society, at the Mall galleries in London.
Whilst working full time she exhibited and sold woven scarfs, bags and wall hangings, paper mache craft mirrors and paintings in a number of galleries across the country.
If you would like to see more of Joanna’s work, she will be exhibiting her art at The Mill Arts Centre in Banbury. With ‘Art at the Mill’ Northants and Rutland Open Studios from Saturday 5 September to Saturday 31 October 2026. The exhibition is free and is open Monday to Saturday from 09:30 to 16:30 with on-site café and bar.
Website: joanna-stump-creations.sumupstore.com
Facebook: Joanna Stump Creations
Contact: [email protected]
Main image: Let the Dandelions Grow by Joanna Stump