butterfly – Judith Monroe

Did you ever have a butterfly net?

Published April 23, 2024

I did! I’m pretty sure that I had an unofficial catch and release protocol because I don’t really remember what happened after I caught a butterfly, or if I really ever caught any. (Maybe my mom will remember and tell me, lol.) But I remember being enchanted by butterflies and I am pretty much still under their spell.

These days I hunt butterflies with a camera and I cheer them on to live their lives in nature.

Pipevine swallotail butterfly unfurling its wings.

I took these photos a year ago, but it’s that time of year again when the pipevine swallowtails begin to come out to play here in northern California along the trails where I like to walk. There is nothing quite as amazing as the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly.

Just seeing them flitter around in the warm spring sunshine seems to bring a child like joy to me every single time. Some things just never get old. If you haven’t gone butterfly hunting in a while, I highly recommend it. It will be good for your soul. And even if you don’t find any butterflies, just taking in the natural setting will feel good.

You may have noticed that I am particularly fond of using butterflies in my artworks and these days I don’t use a butterfly net, but I certainly have a collection of ethically sourced specimens to include in my still life photos.

In my next post, I’ll share some of my collection with you.

Butterfly Collection #10 recently sold (you might recognize it as the piece I use for my newsletter header) and this series of works has been popular lately, especially at Xandadu Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona. So I’m beginning to work on creating more pieces in this series.

If you’re a fan of butterflies like I am, watch for what comes next. 😉

Seasons Change

Published July 6, 2023

Mixed media artwork with cicada and orange flowers inside textured framework.

Probably one of the most interesting things about this piece is that it was originally part of another artwork. “Seasons Change” is 12″ wide and 16″ high but it came from a much larger piece that was 40″ x 40″. I have said goodbye to some of my older larger pieces (that are too big for traveling in my current car!) and I had them cut down to more manageable sizes. If you look at the background image in this artwork, you can see the ghost of a large dragonfly in the background. That dragonfly, the palm frond texture and some butterflies were all in that larger original artwork. This reminds me that in art as in life, sometimes we have to build on what came before.

Learn more about “Seasons Change.”

Love Notes from Nature

Published January 26, 2022

These are my newest little artworks, perfect for showing your love of nature.

Whenever I step outside, there’s always some small piece of nature that catches my eye. Stepping out my front door, I have planted lots of succulents that just give me a warm fuzzy every time I see them. There are so many little things that we can find in nature that can provide that little thrill, and I’ve come to think of them as nature’s little love notes to us.

So how perfect that I’ve been able to capture some of those little natural gems in photographs and then pair them with a small heart shaped piece of wood? It started with wanting to send a few special little Valentines, and then if I’m going to make a couple, I might as well make more, right?

I’ve only made two dozen of these little hearts, some are already gone – and I’ll be sending a few as gifts myself – so there aren’t too many left, but if you message me I can email what is currently available so that you can give a little love note to someone special, or make it a gift for yourself! At only $25 each (plus tax & shipping as appropriate) they are sure to be gone fast.

P. S. I love you.

Published March 29, 2016

This is an update on last week’s post, where I showed you the butterfly – later identified as a Pipevine Swallowtail (P.S.) – I found while out on a walk and how I decided to bring it home to photograph. Today I’m sharing a couple of my favorite shots with you and offering something, too. I will create a piece of artwork just for you from any one of these five images, just email me! Standard sizes are 6×6″ ($95), 8×8″ ($150), 12×12″ ($250) and 20×20″ ($800) This is going to be fun…

P.S. #1 Pipevine Swallowtail on airplant by Judith Monroe (above)

P.S. #2 Pipevine Swallowtail on airplant by Judith Monroe (above)

P.S. #3 Pipevine Swallowtail on airplant by Judith Monroe (above)

P.S. #4 Pipevine Swallowtail on airplant by Judith Monroe (above)

P.S. #5 Pipevine Swallowtail on airplant by Judith Monroe (above)

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Tag: butterfly

Did you ever have a butterfly net?

Seasons Change

Love Notes from Nature

P. S. I love you.