My 2019 Artists project is dedicated to Monarch butterflies…. I’ve always been such a butterfly lover. I have a garden totally dedicated to bringing them. Now you might be wondering how I started this series, well here it goes. July 2018 I found these chrysalises in my garden. I had also had a baby about 6 months ago, and the whole pregnancy and all that had my creative juices feeling blah….so here I was just delighted to have found something new I could enjoy and work on as a little project “just for me”.

I decided to photograph one while it was hanging in it’s natural spot….The photo came out “ok” but it wasn’t too special…. I wanted to do something more with it.

Then I found more… and more… and more. Some hanging in not so great areas like the top of the porch by our bird feeder. I decided to carefully move a few with dental floss and put them in a safe enclosure so we didn’t have to worry about predators. Plus I wanted to do something better photographically. I took the chrysalises in the studio where I had more control.

It wasn’t long and they began to hatch… one after another. I learned a lot about the intricate caterpillar and butterfly lifecycle during this time. I feel lucky that they emerged at a good time of day when I had the time to photograph them. I set up a little studio… it doesn’t look like much but it worked great.

Well… are you ready to see some magnificent artwork?

When I set out to capture this series I wanted to capture the stages of the chrysalis as well as the emergence of the butterflies and different impressions of them. I wanted to capture their wings closed, open, fluttering, etc. I wanted the whole spirit of the butterfly.

All Butterflies were released to the wild after their wings dried and they were ready to fly. See here:

Thanks for reading! Leave me a comment and tell me what you think. If you’re an art collector or want to support my project check out our fine art prints and cards here: Limited Edition Prints.