Butterflies, Birds & Wildlife · horizontal

Ember Wings, Black Butterfly on Amber

A large black butterfly with swallowtail-style wings is centered on a mottled orange and yellow background. Its wings carry red curling scroll patterns, small gold outlined flowers, and red star-shaped blossoms. The body is segmented in red and black with two long antennae, and a thin dark red border surrounds the whole image.

A collector wants this one for its strong, graphic contrast. A large black butterfly with swallowtail-style wings sits in the centre of a glowing amber-orange field, and the black shape is lifted off the ground by a soft dark-red halo. The wings carry red curling scrollwork, small gold-outlined flowers and red star-shaped blossoms, so the piece reads from across the room as a bold silhouette and then rewards a closer look. Most butterfly art is soft, naturalistic or pastel. This one is dark, warm, ornamental and symmetrical, with a folk-art feel, and it suits someone who wants a butterfly with presence and not a delicate one.

Artwork by Omaste Witkowski