-Butterfly World- painting by dkeil

"Butterfly World" by dkeil on canvas on board- 2011

I have always loved the fragile existence of fluttering little color bugs. Few things in my life have matched the excitement of being able to get right up close to a butterfly and getting the chance to examine one closely. There is an iridescence about them that sparkles like a jewel in the bright sun. They weigh practically nothing and yet, somehow, most can flutter about pretty gracefully even in a light breeze. We all know that butterflies morph from colorfully strange worms into magnificent flying creatures; my favorite attribute, though, is their coloration. They are not simply possessing color- they have been PAINTED with color- spots and dashes, contrasting intensities of lines and waves of color. They were artist-designed and artist-finished...The sheer variety of butterflies worldwide is astounding. They do a fine job pollinating plants, and a better job giving me a convenient excuse to drop whatever pointless work is at hand and go on an adventure, briefly visiting the colorful places in the life of a butterfly.

This new work of mine is on canvas stretched over seasoned and oil-primed 1/4in. plywood. The canvas has been glued to the plywood with gesso and then many layers of gesso were applied to form the grounds for painting. It's a larger scale work, being 23 x 38.5 inches.

There's is some symbolism/ meaning involved in the work, but I'll let the viewer determine their own conclusions.

Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts on the painting!
Thanks for visiting! 

-Doug Keil
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