This piece was completed in 2003 during Reggie's 26 Seeds class.  That was a long time ago! Looking quickly back through my "Bible" I remember that the  assignment was to create a chart or piece that showed monochromatic, analogous, opposite and all the colors of the wheel. I had never been fan of using butterflies in my work, but it seemed to make sense here.

The piece is 18x12 and includes gouache, black sharpie and eventually, soft pastels. I traced the butterflies from a nature book, enlarged them on a printer and then traced them again onto Arches watercolor paper. I then proceeded with the quote, using the purples/blues/greens. I used a round tip speedball pen and went back in with pointed pen to square off the edges.

I then painted with a brush, the butterflies using from the left, mono, multi, analogous and opposite ( moving the green up to a pale yellow) colors.

After examining the final piece, I decided it lent itself to a bit more dimension so I cut the wings free from the paper and gently bent them up to look as if the butterflies were either just landing or Real or getting ready to fly off. Sort of obvious, but I liked it.

After our class critique, I decided, to tie the illustration, and the words more closely together by adding a soft background of color, using pastels and leaving pops of white in the "O's"

PS. It has been 21(!) years since that class with Reggie and it still seems like yesterday. My "bible" sits handy in my studio. I have taken so much from Reggie , including techniques and adages I have used for nine years teaching art to elementary / middle school students.

You can enjoy all the Pics of the Week from 2009 through 2020, archived on the home page of my website www.reggieezell.com  ———————————————————————————————-—   Information on courses and workshops   www.reggieezell.com You can contact me directly: contactreggie@comcast.net  or 773-202-8321__________________________________________   Click to see several short (free) Calligraphy videos:  http://www.youtube.com/reggieezell _____________________________________________    Follow me on Instagram and Facebook (@reggieezellcalligraphy) https://instagram.com/reggieezellcalligraphy?igshid=148dz3cpok6 https://www.facebook.com/reggieezellcalligraphy/   If you wish to no longer receive these mailings simply unsubscribe by clicking the following link: https://www.reggieezell.com/unsubscribe/index.html