Rossii / Alexandrae

 Ceratophyus rossii (left) & Ornithoptera alexandrae (below) are both endangered species.

I did these paintings in early 2019 to explore color and form within illustration. I was inspired by the pochoir work of E.A. Seguy, who created series of patterns and insects in gouache in the early 20th century. Although I painted freehand and not by stencil (‘pochoir’ is just French for ‘stencil’), I was drawn to the vibrant swathes of color and the challenge of representing real insects, especially the iridescent and reflective surfaces on the Ceratophyus rossii beetle.

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