Almost finished

I have almost finished my piece “Zebra Longwing and Jatropha”. This is the piece I am doing for the Organic in the City event for Texas Discovery Gardens. I was able to get pictures of the Zebra Longwing and the Jatropha plant on one of my visits to the Butterfly House and Gardens at Texas Discovery Gardens. The Zebra Longwing is the mascot butterfly for Texas Discovery Gardens. It is actually a poisonous species due to the host plant it feeds on, they advertise this with their brilliant black and yellow- white markings. Slow but dignified, the Zebra Longwing is a weak flier. Long antennae and a slender body are typical of these butterflies, which are at home in the tropics, but can sometimes be found as far north as Kansas. According to Wikipedia, Jatropha is a genus of approximately 175 succulent plants, shrubs and trees, from the family Euphorbiaceae. The name is derived from (Greek iatros = physician and trophe = nutrition), hence the common name physic nut. Jatropha is native to Central America and has become naturalized in many tropical and subtropical areas, including India, Africa, and North America. As with many members of the family Euphorbiaceae, Jatropha contains compounds that are highly toxic. Below is a glimpse into the work in progress:

Filling in colorAbout 1/3 of the way

In the beginning

Sunflowers and Summer

This is a commissioned piece I just completed for a client. My client, who is the owner of Summer I, incurred some damage to that painting and wanted me to repaint the piece for them. I changed it up a bit and added some new elements. The bold red geraniums and the sun touched sunflowers are still present, but sitting amongst them is a delicate Cloudless Sulphur butterfly, perched atop a geranium; just taking in a few rays. This piece is 48″ x 48″, acrylic on 1 1/2 inch gallery wrapped canvas.

Here they are, my completed Weaving projects. I made six scarfs, I am in the process of tying fringe on each end of the scarfs. Two of the scarfs are the ones I call Hobo scarfs, One is for my daughter and one for my sister. They are my favorite ones! I really enjoyed making these scarfs, They are like a painting, each time you put a thread through the shed and beat it into the weave, it’s like putting a brush stroke of paint on a canvas, the picture is building with each stroke, each time the shuttle goes through! Here are some more pictures of the pieces.

Summer and Sunflowers revisited in progress

A couple of weeks ago, at a GAP meeting, I had the opportunity to speak with a fellow artist, I had met at a GAP show last summer. She wanted to get together, visit and share ideas. So, I invited a couple of other artists, I had met recently and we set a date. We met at the Corner Bakery, had some lunch and then spent about 2 hours brainstorming. We shared ideas, encouragements, fears and frustrations. It was such a great experience. Those opportunities to share real life experiences of doing art, marketing your art and building an art business with other artist are priceless. I came away with some great ideas, three new friends and a date to meet again next month. You can find information about two of the artists and there work below:

http://www. shellyburden.com

http://paintpalettecolors.blogspot.com

Sunflowers and Gulf Fritillary Butterfly 8 x 8 acrylic on canvas

I am just about finished with my small canvas “Sunflowers and Gulf Fritillary Butterfly”. I have just a little bit of detail work to do, but it is almost there.  I was surprised at the time it took to do this small canvas. From beginning to end it was about a days worth of painting. For some reason, I feel like with such a small canvas, it shouldn’t take that long, but the detail work is time consuming. Oh well, I enjoyed working small and will probably do some more. The star in this painting is the Gulf Fritillary, which is a Brush-footed Butterfly, this family of butterflies is very large with about 3,000 species worldwide. This lovely bright orange member is found primarily in the South.  As I mentioned in a previous blog, the caterpillars of the Gulf Fritillary, love passion flowers. One of these vines in your yard and some nectar flowers will provide a nice habitat for these beauties.

I am almost finished making scarfs from this warp I put on my loom just before Thanksgiving. I had the bright idea to put a 30 foot warp on, which makes about 5 scarfs but it has taken me a lot longer than I thought it would.  Every time I sit down and weave, I enjoy it so much, but setting aside the time to do it during the holidays took some doing. I have done 4 of the scarfs as color coordinated  and 2 that are what I call Hobo Scarfs, my sister had one she bought that inspired me to create these.

The Hobo scarf are what you see wrapped on the front warp apron. They are in multicolor sections and have tassels hanging at the end of each section. When I finish, I will put the fringe on each end and take some pictures to post. I think they will be interesting pieces. They are fun to make, you don’t get tired of the same colors over and over again because I use all different kinds and colors of yarn. Since I am not a person who can sit long at one project, this type of design works really well for me!

After

I am really looking forward to this year. I am in the process now of reorganizing my studio. My studio is small, so I really have to figure out ways to maximize my space. I am also working on a newsletter called “The Art of Smiles”, my goal is to send it out once a month. It will give info on what I am working on, where I will be showing my work and other bits and pieces of info. Be sure and subscribe to “The Art of Smiles” newsletter on my web site http://www.sharenchatterton.com. I am also excited about spending more time painting. This is going to be a great year! Best wishes to all for an amazing 2010!

Before

Twin Mix II

This work is one in a series of collaborative efforts between Karen and I. Our inspiration for this piece, the Gulf Fritillary Butterfly and the beautifully intricate passion flower.  We have so many of these Fritillary Butterflies in our side yard, the reason we have them, is because we have several passion vines planted. These butterfly lay their eggs on the leaves of the passion vine, they are very small yellow spheres, which eventually produce the caterpillar. These guys have a ferocious appetite and could easily strip all the leaves on the vine. The leaves grow back, and the vine continues to produce its beautiful flower, as the chrysalis transform into the Fritillary butterfly. It is spectacular to come out in the morning and have 30 or more butterflies scurrying about our yard. Plant some passion vines, if they will thrive in your area,  you will be providing much needed habitat for many varieties of Fritillary butterflies and many photographic as well as painting opportunities.

"The Painted Lady"

I have finally finished my painting “The Painted Lady”.  The focal point of this piece is of coarse, the Painted Lady Butterfly. This is one of the most familiar butterflies in North America, as well as around the world.  If you want to attract these pretty ladies to your yard, plant thistle, hollyhocks, common sunflowers, yarrow and mallows. The butterfly will lay their eggs on these plants and the larvae ie. caterpillars will feast on these when they hatch out.  The painted lady has to lay her eggs on or very near the right food plant for the eggs, otherwise the caterpillars will not survive. These babies have a ferocious appetite and begin eating as soon as they hatch. The sweet nectar plants for the painted beauties are thistles, asters, cosmos, blazing stars, iron-weed, and Joe-pye weed. Try planting a few of the host plants and nectar plants in your butterfly garden. For those plants that are invasive or less attractive, plant in containers, creating a smorgasbord for the painted ladies. Butterflies are threatened more and more everyday by loss of habitat, plant some host and nectar plants for butterfly conservation!