More Butterflies

Hi Everyone,

I have made more butterflies, I made the frames a couple of weeks ago but became ill so was only able to paint them recently.

I made my 'Raspberry Beret' Butterfly, everytime I look at it I hear the song

I made another butterfly called 'Beauty Flies', inspired by the lovely Jackie Scott who suggested the title.

There are more on their way very soon

Opportunities to buy the butterflies

Hi everyone,

I have now started to sell the butterflies on Ebay, if anyone would like to purchase one please follow these links. If anyone would like a specific one producing, just let me know.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Buddhist-Butterflies-/220963557542?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Decorative_Accents_LE&hash=item33727450a6

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Buddhist-Butterflies-/220963565982?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Decorative_Accents_LE&hash=item337274719e

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Buddhist-Butterflies-/220963567826?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Decorative_Accents_LE&hash=item33727478d2

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Buddhist-Butterflies-/220963569324?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Decorative_Accents_LE&hash=item3372747eac

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Buddhist-Butterflies-/220963570680?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Decorative_Accents_LE&hash=item33727483f8

Making more butterflies in the freezing cold weather

It is so cold outside right now and I have been safely tucked up indoors making butterflies. I have made a collection of Peacock butterflies, a British favourite.

As I write this it is just beginning to snow, we are predicted a heavy snowfall tonight.

I have lots of other's that I have made but not painted yet, usually I leave my butterflies to dry by hanging them from the handles of windows but it is far too cold to do this so they have been drying in front of the fire.

I wanted to talk more about my views on conservation of butterflies and the collection of butterflies. I am aware loss of habitat is the reason why butterflies numbers are decreasing and there are many people who are working very hard to maintain habitats and have captive breeding for rare species. As a citizen of the 21st century I have to agree that captive breeding is necessary for rare many species as the alternative to this is extinction. I believe that collecting butterflies is an issue which is extremely complex which incorporates many factors for collectors all around the world.

Making It Local

Huckleberry Films made a short film for the One Planet Shop who sell my butterflies, if anyone would like to see the film I have put a link here.

Huckleberry Films are a Film company based in Accrington, they are Caroline and David and are fantastically talented. They have a chanel on youtube with the films they have made, have a look through.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewBRLFBouKs&feature=related

http://huckleberryfilms.co.uk/

Hello World,

I've managed (after several hours of getting frustrated with technology) to create a slideshow of some of the butterflies I have made.

Yesterday I painted a few more butterflies, I gave them names such as Lemon Fancy and Lime Shebert.

I like the name Blue Velvet so I think I should make a butterfly with rich blue colours.

I then translate the names into Latin.

Some of the butterflies are named after real butterflies and others are not. Such as Purple Rain; I think I should make more butterflies that are named after song titles.



If anyone has any suggestions of any interesting titles, I would be very interested.

Lepidopterology - The Study of Butterflies

We have been fascinated by butterflies for ever, the ancient Egyptians used images of the brightly coloured varieties as emblems on architecture and jewelry.


An Aurelian is an archaic word for lepidopterist, one who is interested in butterflies. The term is derived from aurelia, meaning chrysalis, and relates to the golden colour a butterfly may attain just before the it emerges; the Latin word for gold is aurum.


Aurelians would meet in coffee houses in the 1700's, they would discuss their findings from their own studies and from this classification of the different species commenced.





They really are spectacular and extremely beautiful. However the numbers of butterflies are in decline. Habitats are being destroyed through farming or expanding towns and cities. Climate change is also a major factor in the changing habits of butterflies today.

Almost three quarters of UK butterfly species have decreased in population during the last decade, a major scientific report reveals. Butterfly Conservation and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) findings show 72% of species declined in abundance over ten years and distributions of 54% of butterflies fell, many sharply. The results, from The State of the UK's Butterflies 2011 Report, provide further evidence that the European Union target to halt the loss of biodiversity by 2010 was not met.

The report also reveals that intensive conservation efforts are turning around the fortunes of some of the UK's most endangered butterflies. The previously extinct Large Blue showed increases in population and range and the Heath Fritillary has been brought back from the brink of extinction.

But ongoing declines have left the High Brown Fritillary and the Duke of Burgundy facing the very real threat of becoming extinct in the UK unless they benefit from further conservation work.
The report shows for the first time that the total number of common and widespread species fell by almost a quarter in 10 years, indicating underlying problems with the UK's environment.

Another factor that is a cause for concern is that it is more financially viable to collect butterflies than farm in some countries. In Tanzania farmers will earn up to 2 dollars a day, yet the butterfly collectors can earn up 20,000 dollars a year. Increasingly many people who live in the rural mountains are turning their backs on farming to sell rare species in pupae form that they collect. They sell to butterfly farms in more developed countries who then rear the butterflies to then sell to the public. Not only is this an issue for biodiversity it is a human issue too that we see around the word time and time again. If the farmers were able to sell their products using Fairtrade philosophies then maybe they wouldn't need to go collecting the butterflies and then these amazing creatures would live exactly where they should - in the wild.

An example of one of my Buddhist Butterflies, it is made from florists wire and tissue paper. I glue the paper onto a wire frame, then when the shape is dry I paint with ink. The overall effect gives a translucent quality to the finished piece. I then mount the butterfly to card and frame. The best bit is that no actual butterflies have been harmed or had to die to create this.