Next Painting Idea

     I spent a lot of much-needed time tonight trying to gather together some new ideas as I move forward with my work, and my next painting. I've noticed that the last few art pieces I've done, I've really gravitated toward including butterflies - even exposing their unusual habit to seek out various salts and minerals in peculiar places (even within the carcasses of deceased animals). While this is still a recent discovery, studies have shown that male butterflies that exhibit a higher concentration of minerals and salts within their bloodstream often mate with more females than those without. Perhaps the most incredible thing about this odd behavior is that it often means that large numbers of butterflies concentrate in the same place, at the same time, and create spectacles that seem completely surreal. The science behind this phenomenon is what really drives me forward - a real occurrence that happens in nature with an almost theatrical and dreamlike effect. For me, that is the perfect combination for a great painting.
    As I was browsing around the internet today, I came across an article from LiveScience that talks about an even more spectacular occurrence that happens in the Amazon Rainforest. Butterflies there actively seek out basking turtles in order to extract the salts that are found within their "tears." You can read the article for yourself here. It has only been documented a number of times, but the fact that this is so visually stunning, in combination with it being a very recent discovery, means that I immediately became interested in painting it. I think this will become my next piece. I've got a lot of sketching and planning to do, but hopefully will be able to get my birch wood prepped and gessoed by Tuesday.

Definitely check out the article if you can. It also includes a video of bees exhibiting the same behavior. Really rad!

- BF