Saturday, December 25, 2010

Tiger Swallowtails Alight


Remnants of Flight
oil on canvas, 11"x14"
email info@susannapantas.com for more info

When my friend found this Tiger Swallowtail butterfly in the grill of her little mini-cooper automobile, the incident prompted a bystander to proclaim "you killed magic!"  I find this hilarious. My friend urged me to title the painting, "The Death of Magic," but not being in the mood for the melodramatic.... I have chosen the title "Remnants of Flight"


I have also begun work on two other Tiger Swallowtail-inspired paintings:


The iridescent aqua color on each wing is absolutely spectacular. I hope I can accurately capture it, but iridescence is tricky!   Each little aqua speck appearing against the deep velvety black is like a dusting of chipped gemstones.  Will I be able to capture this in paint? Well, I'll try!

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Bundles of twigs, horsehair, and bubble wrap = baby bird abode

Ah, winter.

Here are two in the works:


This painting, above, is the larger of the two paintings.  Woven within is actually a bit of bubble wrap amidst all of the pine tree twigs!


This second little nest includes a few strands of horse hair.

Pine needles, horsehair, and a few bits of fuzz make quite the welcoming bed for baby birds I'd say.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Work in progress ~

Here is a new large painting (err... large for me) that I am working on.  This painting measures 24"x30" - I am enjoying pushing myself to work in this larger scale.   Inside the painting, outside of the window, will be a flock of swallows.