From the onset, I knew I wanted to do a piece with a lot of dark areas to help round out the many lighter pieces in my Inkscapes series, and the brightness of the flowers and dark shadows of the inner parts of the azalea bush offered opportunities for rich contrast. In the preliminary work for the piece, I sat on my front porch and patiently photographed bumblebees buzzing around my blooming azalea to get references of bees from all angles, and in different positions. I used five different weights of pens to provide a rich range of tones and depths. During the making of the piece, I found that even though I knew where all the bumblebees were I was surprised to find them there. The azalea bees contrast in similar ways to the flowers and depths of the bush. In this way, it’s fun to get lost in the details and be prepared to discover what is in them.