The subject of my drawing is a placid ladybug resting on a blade of grass while behind it, a classical city burns to the ground, its citizens fleeing in terror from invading soldiers. This piece was largely inspired by the 1833-1836 painting series "The Course of Empire" by Thomas Cole, which I have always found incredibly poignant in its depiction of the way in which seemingly all-powerful civilizations can crumble and be forgotten. It is also inspired by my personal interest in the small, mundane aspects of human history beyond the battles and politics, which inspired me to explore a war from the perspective of a being with no context or understanding of human affairs. I wanted to give the piece a gestural, energetic quality in the background to emphasize the chaos and confusion of the scene, with rectilinear forms to set it apart from the natural world, while the foreground mainly uses more defined, detailed organic shapes, to show civilization's separation from nature.