Brazilian Moth Illustration – A Series in Acrylics
Following my recent travels to Brazil in search of reference to further my series of major works in ‘The White Room Collection’, I have also begun producing another series of small acrylic butterfly and moth paintings from one particular area I explored in Caraça, Minas Gerais. Though we discovered many insect species during our time there… not just ticks… I was also very fortunate to see the decades of collected, catalogued and wonderful natural history images that the resident priest of Caraça had gathered over his years based there as well. Adding to my own reference, I was truly blessed when he allowed me to work from some of his wonderful images as well, an almost unimaginable 43,000 of them to be exact! Returning home well armed and grateful, I am capturing some of those subjects in this series of illustrations here in my studio as it just wouldnt be right to waste such a wonderful opportunity!
Measuring 14x10cms in size, each butterfly illustration is painstakingly rendered in acrylics, set upon a dramatic black background to really draw focus on the subject as much as they deserve. The first is a particular favourite subject of mine as I was so drawn to the delicate, velvety softness of the wings and to the gentle flushes of colour that falls to the lower details of these subjects. I love the way the black surrounds contrasts the softness whilst plucking out the remarkable ‘eye’ features on the wings of each of these moths… There is something so very elegant about these beautiful creatures and Im looking forward to growing this moth illustration series along with my major works.
An example of the first moth study coming together in stages
A look at the first three moth studies in the series
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I will add to this post in time, thanks for following!