Inspired by the life of the great naturalist and author of ‘On the Origin of Species’, Charles Darwin. The artwork adopts the familiar Red Admiral butterfly to help describe his great work and studies on the Theory of Evolution.

The artwork has been digitally reworked to subtly reveal Darwin’s portrait and an illustration of ‘The Evolution of Man’. The lower wing features the Charles Darwin Galapagos Finch, which he used for his ‘beak theory’ study.

The reverse side of the wing depicts the outline of the Galapagos Islands and features the silhouettes of famous Giant Galapagos Tortoises.  

ATTENBOROUGH PEACOCK

Inspired by the great naturalist, broadcaster and natural historian Sir David Attenborough, this artwork describes and celebrates him through illustrative and nuanced additions to the wing patterns of the Peacock butterfly, one of his favourite butterflies. The illustrations depict references to him and his story within the wing pattern on both front and reverse sides.

Using a mix of digital retouching and hand-painted embellishments, the familiar and highly distinctive markings of the Peacock visually morph to subtly reveal his portrait and one of his favourite animals, the Chimpanzee. The reverse side of the wing references the meanderings of the river Thames and references Sir David’s hometown of Richmond upon Thames and the Butterfly Conservation site in Kent, SE London. A Spider Monkey also makes an appearence seemingly swinging between the wings.

DARWIN LEPRIEUR’S GLORY

Inspired by the life of the great naturalist and author of ‘On the Origin of Species’, Charles Darwin, the artwork adopts the stunning Asterope leprieuri butterfly (Darwin’s favourite butterfly!) to celebrate him and his work.

The rich velvety blue and pistachio hues of the butterfly have been digitally retouched to subtly reveal an illustration of The Theory of Evolution in the upper wing and a silhouetted ape hidden in the lower wing. The characterisation continues on the reverse side of the wing, where his name appears as part of the mottled patterns on the lower wing.

The artwork is printed on light reflective 300 gsm Sirio paper with hand-applied gold leaf and Metallic Mica Powder.

Materials:

Paper / Wire / Pins / Ink

Dimensions (Outer): 250cm x 250cm

The artwork is printed on light reflective 300 gsm Sirio paper with hand-applied gold leaf and Metallic Mica Powder.

The 265mm x 265mm box frame is Aluminium with 2mm Anti-Reflective glass with a depth of 60mm.

POR

Please contact me to discuss bespoke commissions.

The post Limited Edition Naturalist Series appeared first on Faunart.

Celebrating the film Psycho by the legendary filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock, the artwork adopts the stunningTurquoise Emperor butterfly to illustrate some of the famous scenes from the 1960’s film.

The artwork has been digitally reworked to subtly reveal the Bates mansion house, which overlooks the motel below – the silhouetted figure of his mother framed within the top floor window. The famous and most scariest scene from the film – the shower scene –  is depicted within the pattern of the lower wing where the character Marion Crane’s (Janet Leigh) screaming face is revealed. The reverse side works the iconic silhouetted figure of Alfred Hitchcock himself into the upper wing – the mysterious figure clutching a knife appears as a shadow below, accompanied by the initials of Alfred Hitchcock worked into dot patterns.

THE QUENTIN TARANTINO

This artwork was created to celebrate one of my personal favourites – the filmmaker Quentin Tarantino and his first 2 films – Reservoir Dogs 1992 and Pulp Fiction 1994. The illustrative design on both front and reverse of the butterfly Agrias Claudina subtly works in iconic scenes and prop references from the films.

Using a mix of digital retouching and hand-painted embellishments, the highly distinctive markings of the Agrias Claudina were used to visually morph the famous slow-mo scene of the besuited characters walking in unison, overlaid on a blood splattered backdrop – the film title can be found very subtly worked into the dark background wing tips. The lower wing graphic captures the famous face-off between characters Mr Pink and Mr White. The reverse side of the butterfly features scenes and references from Pulp Fiction – working the famous dance scene of characters Vincent Vegas and Mia Wallace doing the twist to Chuck Berry’s “You Never Can Tell”. In the lower wing, you can see the scene featuring Jules (Samuel L Jackson) and Vincent (John Travolta) pointing their guns at the bewildered Brett in the process of retrieving ’the briefcase’. Symbols of the film’s famous props,s including the syringe, briefcase and watch, are crafted into the wings’ dot pattern.

THE GODFATHER

Created to celebrate one of the best film trilogies of all time! Directed by the great Francis Ford Coppola and written by Mario Puzo. I have used the butterfly Morpho Cypris to work in an illustration of Don Corleone’s (Marlon Brando) face into the natural dot pattern of the butterfly, also including the famous ‘puppet string’ motif on the wing tip. The reverse side of the butterfly references one of the most famous scenes from the film, when (a real) severed horse head was used as a warning to one of the Corleone enemies.

Materials:

Paper / Wire / Pins / Ink

Dimensions (Outer): 250cm x 250cm

The artwork is printed on light reflective 300 gsm Sirio paper with hand-applied gold leaf and Metallic Mica Powder.

The 265mm x 265mm box frame is Aluminium with 2mm Anti-Reflective glass with a depth of 60mm.

POR

Please contact me to discuss bespoke commissions.

The post Limited Edition Movie Series appeared first on Faunart.

Margaret Fountaine travelled the world, collecting more than 22,000 butterflies from sixty countries on six continents over fifty years and became an expert in tropical butterfly life-cycles. She also published extensively and wrote a diary of more than a million words. 

Wealthy and independent, Fountaine was ahead of her time in terms of what it meant to be a woman.  She began her travels after being abandoned by the man she hoped to marry, but she seems to have attracted many other men throughout her long life (including a Sicilian bandit and a Hungarian nobleman). However, she found happiness with a handsome Syrian guide and translator who was 15 years her junior. and they lived, worked and travelled together, unmarried, for some 27 years. 

Known for her flamboyant hats, seeing off drunken men, robbers, fleas, snakes, mosquitoes, riots, wars, troublesome natives and the odd stray lion, she was known as a force of nature herself.  

The picture depicts a composition of butterflies before a mass migration formed in the silhouette of Fontaine studying one of her many specimens. 

Produced in a mix of over 650 handcrafted butterflies found in Fontaine’s travels in the tropics, and domestically include Monarchs, Bath Whites, gold metallic Monarchs, and Green Chrysozephyrus. Small gem-like gold discs and hand embellished gold leaf have been added to this composition to amplify the movement a cluster of butterflies makes, popping and sparkling with the light.

Materials:

Paper / Wire / Pins / Ink

All printed 300 gsm on Sirio paper in a mix of light reflective and metallic paper types. 

The frame is made from beech wood, finished in a matt black sprayed paint with a returned edge of 75mm and a front edge of 15mm with gold leaf

Dimensions (Outer): 100cm x 100cm x 8cm

POR

Please contact me to discuss bespoke commissions.

The post Madame Butterfly appeared first on Faunart.

The track is famous for its haunting, melancholic beauty and impressionistic harmonic structure. Evoking a deep sense of introspection, fragility and transience, the track seems perfect for its connection to butterflies. The comparison is poetically literal and can even be explicitly described as ‘fluttering’ or ‘ephemeral’. The mixed tones of blue in the centre representing the ‘contemplative’ and ‘melancholy’, and the outer band of green reflects both ‘rebirth’ and ‘renewal’. The track, with its gentle, slow, floating quality, really fits with the soft and fragile movements of a fluttering butterfly. 

Produced in a mix of over 550 handcrafted butterflies, the artwork includes Bath Whites, Green Chrysozephyrus, Blue Morpho, Common Blues and metallic Monarch butterflies. 

Materials:

Paper / Wire / Pins / Ink

All printed 300 gsm on Sirio paper in a mix of light reflective and metallic paper types. 

The frame is made from beech wood, finished in a matt black sprayed paint with a returned edge of 75mm and a front edge of 15mm with gold leaf

Dimensions (Outer): 100cm x 100cm x 8cm

POR

Please contact me to discuss bespoke commissions.

The post Blue in Green appeared first on Faunart.

All printed on 300gsm light reflective Sirio paper and metallic paper types.

The depth of 3D butterflies gives the artwork an arresting texture – allowing shadow, light and space for the butterflies to look life-like.

The frame is made from beech wood, finished in a matt black sprayed paint with a returned edge of 75mm and a front edge of 15mm with gold leaf

Dimensions (Outer): 100cm x 100cm x 8cm

POR

Please contact me to discuss bespoke commissions.

The post A Mass of Love appeared first on Faunart.

Each of the wing patterns has been embellished to feature hidden ghostly faces and skulls, injecting a darker more sinister aspect to the ethereal beauty of butterflies – in turn referencing the fleeting lifespan of butterflies between birth and death.

Printed on 300gsm Sirio Pearl Oyster and Sirio Arum Gold mounted on 160gsm Fabriano Tiziano White Pastel paper.

The 7.5cm deep 3d kaleidoscope individually profile cut butterflies, folded, edges inked in, antennae fixed and pinned at various heights off a backboard.

The box frame is made of timber, finished in a matt black sprayed paint with a returned edge of 70mm

Dimensions: (h) 54cm x (w) 54mm x 75mm

POR

Please contact me to discuss bespoke commissions.

The post Kaleidoscope – Red Ghostwing 2 appeared first on Faunart.

Each of the wing patterns has been embellished to feature hidden ghostly faces and skulls, injecting a darker, more sinister aspect to the ethereal beauty of butterflies, in turn referencing the fleeting lifespan of butterflies between birth and death.

Printed on 300gsm Sirio Pearl Oyster and Sirio Arum Gold mounted on 160gsm Fabriano Tiziano White Pastel paper.

The 7.5cm deep 3d kaleidoscope individually profile cut butterflies, folded, edges inked in, antennae fixed and pinned at various heights off a backboard.

The box frame is made of timber, finished in a matt black sprayed paint with a returned edge of 70mm

Dimensions: (h) 54cm x (w) 54mm x 75mm

POR

Please contact me to discuss bespoke commissions.

The post Kaleidoscope – Red Ghostwing 1 appeared first on Faunart.

A celebration of the Italian Air Force – Aeronautica Militare roundels were used on all aircraft as a circular identification mark, painted on all aircrafts to identify them to other aircraft and ground forces, a graphic simplification of the Tricolori flag.

Also adopted by The Mod subculture in Britain in the 1960’s – taking a symbol of authority and traditionalism and repurposing it to express their own sense of style and identity. The Italian Mods from the 1980s were renowned for their impeccable sense of style too plus not forgetting to mention Italy being the origin of their beloved Vespa and Lambretta scooters which they proudly owned and rode.

Over 800 individually made butterflies were used in this piece to achieve the abundancy and density for a thick pop of colour. Each of the front and reverse sides of the red wing patterns have been embellished to feature hidden ghostly faces and skulls, injecting a darker more sinister aspect to the ethereal beauty of butterflies – in turn referencing the fleeting lifespan of butterflies between birth and death.

The frame is wood, finished in a matt black sprayed paint with a returned edge of 75mm and a front edge of 15mm.

Dimensions (Outer): (h) 54cm x (w) 54mm x (d) 75mm

POR

Please contact me to discuss bespoke commissions.

The post Air Force 2 appeared first on Faunart.

A celebration of our Royal Air Force the RAF roundels were used on all aircraft as a circular identification mark, painted on all aircrafts to identify them to other aircraft and ground forces, a graphic simplification of the Union Jack cross.

Also adopted by The Mod subculture in Britain in the 1960’s – taking a symbol of authority and traditionalism and repurposing it to express their own sense of style and identity. It was seen as a bold and eye-catching graphic element that could be incorporated into clothing and accessories to make a statement.

Over 800 individually made butterflies were used in this piece to achieve the abundancy and density for a thick pop of colour. Each of the front and reverse sides of the red wing patterns have been embellished to feature hidden ghostly faces and skulls, injecting a darker more sinister aspect to the ethereal beauty of butterflies – in turn referencing the fleeting lifespan of butterflies between birth and death.

The frame is wood, finished in a matt black sprayed paint with a returned edge of 75mm and a front edge of 15mm.

Dimensions (Outer): (h) 54cm x (w) 54mm x (d) 75mm

POR

Please contact me to discuss bespoke commissions.

The post Air Force appeared first on Faunart.

Cluster of Gold is a radial composition featuring a concentration of metallic gold Monarch butterflies – coupled with a less dominant number of silver Monarch and Bath white butterflies, giving a sense of movement, energy and life on a scale and depth that demonstrates a frenetic mass of butterflies which could seemingly escape the confines of the frame. The depth of 3d butterflies give the artwork an arresting texture – allowing shadow, light and space for the butterflies to look lifelike. The piece comprises of 3 butterfly types and were produced to tie in with the colours found in the suites.  

All are individually pinned off a white textured pastel paper background. The butterflies are cut and folded to shape and sees bespoke gold Monarch butterflies against a peppering of silver Monarch and Bath Whites.

All printed 300gsm on Sirio in a mix of matt finish, light reflective and metallic papers types. Mounted on to a background of 200gsm Fabriano pastel paper.

The frame is wood, with an antique patternated gold leaf finish. It has a returned edge of 75mm and a front edge of 20mm.

Dimensions (Outer): (h) 750cm x (w) 750mm x (d) 75mm

POR

Please contact me to discuss bespoke commissions.

The post Dorchester – Gold Cluster appeared first on Faunart.