Glass Kingdom
Acrylic on glass
Panel
10x12"
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Queen of the butterflies, the Monarch, native to the northeastern United States, once endangered is now again prospering. This speaks to the resiliency of nature and how intentional care from us can restore balance to the natural world. I created this painting on lamented glass because although it does break, it does not shatter- while it is vulnerable, it is still resilient. I began by damaging the glass, followed by painting the backside of surface in reverse techniques. I finished the work with subtle layers of paint and details on the front that overlay the underpainting, creating a multidimensional experience of hues. The fragments of glass mirror the stunning yet delicate panes of color within the Monarchs’ wings. The material itself, beautiful yet fragile, should remind us of the necessity and responsibility of our care.
Nothing gold can stay
a poem by Robert Frost
Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
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Created with oil paint on gold leaf, this gentle creature peers out from its golden armor to assess us as friend or foe. The pangolin is the world’s most trafficked mammal, prized for its scales and meat, its variety of eight species range from vulnerable to critically endangered.