Butterfly 1

My Inspiration

Inspired by the butterfly paintings by the artist Damien Hirsch, I tried to simplify my image and explore one butterfly and two colours in greater depth. It took me weeks of experimentation to come up with this colour scheme and the notion of using one sheet of shiny plastic. The simplicity gives the image power and strength.

Process

I found unused circular table mats that I decided to use as a board. However they were covered in a floral print. I didn’t want this. I painted them with acrylic and plastic resin. I folded recycled plastic sheets and I dropped paint onto one side. I folded the sheet in two creating these stunning butterflies. The paint took on a life of its own. After that I stuck the plastic butterfly into the wet resin. Iridescent glitter was applied to the resin to symbolise the ‘plasticity of twenty first century living’. I created ten of these pieces. Each one is original and unique. My inspiration We went on honeymoon to Thailand. We went to a butterfly farm. Here we encountered the most magnificent clouds of multi-coloured butterflies. When I viewed images of plastic marine pollution, these same images of butterflies came to mind as plastic bags ‘flew’ graciously in the sea.