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Acrylic on gallery canvas.30x30"The Red Admiral became a favourite butterfly the moment I met 'him'. Visiting with us at the picnic table beside the native meadow, he lingered on m y bare leg. This native butterfly searches for and sips on native plants. You will see him if you plant native plants in your garden. The origin of its name 'red admiral' is said to be a corruption of the original 18th-century name 'red admirable'. And here I've thought that it was because the stripes looked military! In any case, it is a beauty! I've enjoyed painting two works with these admirable butterflies. I have simplified the markings to a degree. It's hard to decide where that line is. The red is pretty unmistakeable even with just a slash of the red-orange. Our meadow is surrounded by a forest. Because the tree foliage at the meadow edge is munched by deer, a 4 foot high band of darkness surrounds the meadow. I love how this 'browse line' provides an inkiness in which the meadow flowers glow. The blackness of the admiral butterfly's wings lends to creating a 'lost edge' when placed beside the dark shape of the browse line. And then the white spots glow! Show more