Small tortoiseshell buttefly cut to white. This insect has a brown central body, orangish eyes, and striped antenaae (black and white) with orange tips. The wings are brown, deep orange, fade to areas of bright yellow before hitting the outer margin/ The top wings have a dash of white. the rest are all deep orange until they hit the black cresents which border glowing turquoise blue semi circles along the upper and lower wing edges. Beyond these is a thin black line, then a thin brown line, then a white edge cut through with the veins that support the wing and come out diagonally from the thorax to the wing edge.
Detail of the hindwing of the Small tortoiseshell butterfly. Top corner is dark brown black, then there is an area of yellows and golds that blends into orange which gets darker towards the wing edge. It hits scalloped black edges which enclose bright sky blue patches of colour. Then another black stripe, a brown line, and the white wing edge.
Painting this insect is a real treat as the colours are so vivid. I love the way the blue areas look against the orange, they almost glow. This is probably because the colours are opposite each other on the colour wheel.
#sciart
Another detail of the Small tortoiseshell wing, this time tthe top of the top left wing, part of the margin above the costa. Deep oranges are cut across with solid black bands, and two little black spots. there are areas of light bright yellow at the edges of the black bands. Colour is built up with loads of tiny #watercolor brushstrokes
This #smalltortoiseshell #butterfly, #Aglais urticae.
is a commission for a chinaware company.
Painting this insect is a real treat as the colours are so vivid.
The species name is urticae (nettle) because the caterpillars often feed on stinging nettle.
#sciart #naturalscienceillustration