The Summer I Told the Bees

In an old folk tradition, important news was shared with the bees. Births, deaths, marriages, departures, the turning points of a family’s life. The bees were considered part of the household and were told what mattered. This collection began during the pandemic. Because I had people I loved who were high risk our world remained small long after many others had begun returning to normal. While much of the world reopened, we continued to navigate isolation,caution, and uncertainty. During that time, I found myself spending long hours in the gardens. I would bring my paints and sketchbooks and settle onto the lawns, filling page after page while keeping a careful distance from others. What began as a way tosafely leave the house became something more. The gardens became my solace. My space. My place to breathe. As I painted the gardens, I began noticing the bees. I watched them shelter from rain beneath leaves, cling to flowers in the wind, investigate blossoms, gather pollen, and return home at the end of the day. The more closely I looked, the more these small encounters became companions to my own season of change. This was also a season marked by loss. After losing my mother, I found myself carrying the kind of news that,according to tradition, should be shared with the bees. So I did. Not always literally, perhaps, though sometimes I shared out loud, but in the quiet way we speak to gardens, to birds, to old trees, and to the living world around us when we need somewhere to place our thoughts. These paintings are the result of those conversations. They are observations of bees, certainly, but they are also a record of a particular moment in time. A reminder that even in seasons of uncertainty and grief, there can be beauty, wonder, resilience, and life unfolding all around us. This was the summer I told the bees. Meet the artist, Kelly Barone! Kelly Barone is a Buffalo-based watercolor artist, illustrator, and educator whose work celebrates the beauty found in everyday moments. Inspired by nature, gardens, architecture, and the stories woven through ordinary life, she works primarily in watercolor and ink, creating pieces that balance observation with a sense of whimsy and wonder. A lifelong creative, Kelly has spent more than a decade teaching art through classes, workshops, retreats, and community programs. Her approachable teaching style has helped thousands of students discover confidence in their own creativity. Drawing from backgrounds in both fine art and creative education, she is particularly passionate about making art accessible to beginners while encouraging experienced artists to deepen their practice. Kelly is the author of Drawing Botanicals with Whimsy and Drawing MORE Botanicals, and is a Certified Zentangle Teacher. Her work has been exhibited throughout Western New York and is held in private collections across the United States. She lives and works in Buffalo, New York, where she continues to paint, teach, and find inspiration in the natural world.