etching, watercolor, 4" x 3" image size
Portraits often show people dressed in their best clothes. People from around the world identify themselves with particular animals. Here my butterfly obsession combines these two ideas as the butterfly operates as finery and a symbol for change and renewal. The particular butterfly this is based on, the Banded-Peacock, also alludes to the way a peacock takes pride in its ornamentation, which although decorative, is also part of its structure. The butterfly in my picture has been fused with my form, elongated in the process, making an elegant collar. The top part of the butterfly functions as a kind of headdress, making sense only in this printed world. I could make fun and say that these two forms can be compared with Princess Leia's hair buns or Mickey Mouse ears. Both comparisons are relevant in that the hairstyle and the mouse ears are adornment necessary to particular characters.
I am also very interested in Goya and his Los Caprichos. This print is going to be used as the introductory image in a series of butterfly themed prints that will be assembled as a folio in a small edition of ten. I am not sure how many images I will make for this project, but at least ten. Goya made eighty prints in each edition of Los Caprichos, which were sold at the time for what was the equivalent value of thirty-five dollars a set. The six sets he made for friends were of a higher quality than the ones for sale to the general public.
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