Butterflies & Botanicals

A little bit of summer is creeping back in with this topic, despite the windy weather and downpours in the UK! There are some butterflies that are still active as the temperatures haven't dropped fully yet, and we do have some sun. In the tropical houses and around the world, things are different. Let's take a closer look at butterflies and the plants they live among, feed and thrive on as part of their life cycle.

Butterflies and moths are insects; there's no consistent way to distinguish them. Butterflies are all day-flying, while most moths fly at night.

Both enrich gardens, acting as pollinators and forming a vital part of the food chain. Only a few caterpillars cause noticeable damage.

Heath Fritillary Butterfly, drawn and painted by Lizzie Harper. From lizzieharper.co.uk

Globally, there are over 155,000 species of butterflies, moths, and skippers, which are found on every continent except Antarctica. In Britain, 59 butterfly species are residents, with up to 30 more arriving as migrants from Europe and North Africa. Many are seen during spring and summer as they feed on wildflower nectar.

Common blue butterfly- widespread in the UK, April-October

Art inspiration;

🎨 Butterfly wings close-up: Focus on the details and textures of a single butterfly wing – add some flowers to complement your butterfly

🎨 Abstract butterflies: Use splatter techniques to create an abstract butterfly swarm – to capture the liveliness of butterflies in flight over a meadow

🎨 Butterfly and florals: Try integrating butterflies with different types of flowers in a detailed, fine art, botanical style

🎨 3D Butterfly Art: Use layered paper/materials to create a 3-dimensional effect. Paint a meadow background. The butterflies will appear to flutter off your artwork

🎨 Butterfly kaleidoscope: Create a symmetrical, kaleidoscope effect with multiple butterfly patterns. The design magnifies the natural symmetry in butterfly wings

🎨 Pop art butterflies: Bold, bright colours and repetitive patterns in a pop art style - transform butterflies into vivid, iconic motifs, let your imagination run wild, and include flowers too.

I look forward to sharing time and seeing your ideas come together. It will be a great evening of creativity.

See you all soon 🙂 Wednesday evening, 7:30 pm UK time. Please join us on link-tree select All4Art  https://linktr.ee/all4inclusion