Beetle Royale Watercolour and gold designer gouache on paper NFT from the “Gossamer & Glass” Collection by Rosso Art & Design
Backpacking through Australia brought many unexpected encounters—but few were as memorable, or as magnificent, as the scarab beetle we met just outside a dusty campground. I had been backpacking in Australia for a while when some close girlfriends from Canada came to visit for an East Coast mini-trip. We planned a classic night of camping, full of firelight and stories under the stars.
We never made it to the tent.
As we pulled into the parking area to check in, we noticed something massive clinging to the signpost in front of our station wagon. A beetle the size of a small watermelon was just hanging out—glinting in the late-day sun like a moving gemstone, all armoured green, cobalt blue, and velvet burgundy. I was in awe. My friends… not so much. In less time than it took that beetle to twitch a leg, we were headed back to town and checking into a hotel. Nature had made her point.
That encounter stuck with me—not just for the humor, but for the grandeur of the beetle itself. In many cultures, beetles symbolize strength, grounding, and transformation. The scarab beetle, with its smooth, domed shell and timeless symmetry, has long been revered as a symbol of rebirth and protection—less an insect, and more a living talisman from the natural world.
Beetle Royale is my homage to that moment. Painted in watercolour and gold designer gouache, the piece captures the beetle’s cathedral-like symmetry and gemstone palette. With vibrant emerald, sapphire, garnet, and citrine tones outlined in metallic gold, the painting echoes the opulence of Tiffany glass, jewel boxes, and ancient talismans.
As an artist and lifelong lover of insects, I create to reframe these misunderstood creatures—not as pests or oddities, but as powerful symbols of resilience, beauty, and meaning. Part of my debut NFT collection, Gossamer & Glass, this piece is both a memory and a statement. A celebration of bugs not just as biological wonders, but as artistic muses and bearers of hidden grandeur.