Caught On Canvas

“The Butterfly”
Acrylic paint, ink, and synthetic butterflies on canvas
Size: 36” x 48”

Although I didn’t begin this piece for years after the fact, this image was inspired by a dream I’d had, where a huge raindrop hit a butterfly, separating its wings from its body, with each then shattering into a thousand smaller butterflies. Portraying the dream’s theme of “recycled existence”—life into dust, dust into life—the image slowly evolved into an interesting representation of metamorphosis: 
The Butterfly represents the division of a single existence into two distinct forms—the left half mirroring the texture and form of the butterfly, and the right, the likeness of the caterpillar that preceded it. In contrast to the symmetrical structure of an actual butterfly, not a single part of the image is the same as another. However, each of the opposing sides contains a few details meant to meld with the concept of its opposite, signifying their coexistence—the butterfly is the caterpillar, and the caterpillar is the butterfly.