In my never-ending search for a way to depict iridescence, I bought some of those alluring metallic pens. I used them on this clockwork chafer beetle, with some success.
There is still the problem that the shine doesn't really show up unless the viewer is moving and looking at the same time, which people don't tend to do. And the necessary glass over the paper-based painting also prevents a real engagement.
Hmmm, maybe I could use the pens on a canvas, along with acrylic or oils. That's something to think about another time. Although I would probably want to avoid the canvas texture. Perhaps lots of gesso would do it, sanding between layers.
It's gone now. It sold the first time it was shown to the public, and now infests the house of an eminent entomologist.
I'm rather taken aback by the size of the beetle in the painting. As for capturing iridescence that seems to me to be rather like trying to photograph the entire spectrum of a rainbow.
ReplyDeleteIt's a big beetle, yep. Since painting it I have actually seen them, and a number of relatives. Rose chafers are probably not particularly appreciated by rose-lovers of course. But I still like them.
DeleteOne of my heroines Maria Sibylla Merian said something like 'it is a hopeless task to try to capture the colour of the wings or the morpho butterfly'.