DARWIN GALAPAGOS
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 appearance, seemingly swinging between the wings.
The artwork is printed on light reflective 300 gm 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.
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 gm Sirio paper with hand-applied gold leaf and Metallic Mica Powder.
WALLACE THE DISCOVERER
Limited Edition – Naturalists Series – 250mm 250mm
This piece is inspired by Alfred Russel Wallace, an English naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist and illustrator.
I have chosen the Golden Birdwing butterfly as a vehicle to celebrate Wallace’s story. The butterfly is one of the many Wallace discovered himself in the tropics.
The front wing pattern depicts a portrait of Alfred R. Wallace and an illustration of the tragic story of his ship Helen catching fire on its return journey back from the Amazon. Wallace and the whole crew had to abandon the ship and ALL the specimens, extensive drawings and notes he had made over the last two years of discovery. The reverse side celebrates two of his other finds, the Flying frog (Rhacophorus nigropalmatus) and Wallace’s Standardwing (Semioptera wallacii) bird of paradise.
Alfred R. Wallace independently conceived the theory of evolution through natural selection; his 1858 paper on the subject was published that year alongside extracts from Charles Darwin’s writings on the topic. It spurred Darwin to set aside the “big species book” he was drafting and to quickly write an abstract of it, which was published in 1859 as On the Origin of Species, securing his name in history as the higher-profile discoverer of the theory of evolution. Darwin became the far better-known naturalist of history compared to the equally qualified Wallace!
Materials:
Paper / Wire / Pins / Ink
All printed on 300 gsm 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
POR
Please contact me to discuss bespoke commissions.
You must be logged in to post a comment.