In summer 2015, my family and I took a trip to Key West, and we visited the Butterfly and Nature Conservatory. It was an amazing experience! The conservatory is located in a large indoor, tropical habitat, and it houses hundreds of butterflies and many species of birds, all of which are free to fly around as you walk through. It was a magical experience to be surrounded by so many beautiful butterflies, many I had never seen before. The butterflies, birds, and flowers that I saw have inspired many of my artworks throughout the years. I still use them as reference images. One of the first projects inspired by the experience was my intaglio series of the paper kite butterfly titled Idea leuconoe Plates I II & III. You can view that series below. The paper kite, also known as a large tree nymph is one of my favorite butterflies. I was instantly attracted to it’s lack of bright color and its stark black and white pattern on the wings. I later used Plate I from this series to create my logo.
Photo of a paper kite butterfly at the Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory. Photo taken by Kristin Frank.
