Original artwork description:

On the symbolism of the chrysalis...

If you look through my work, you will notice that the butterfly features quite a bit. I love them for their beauty and for the symbolism they are charged with.

The chrysalis is one of the stages in the life of a butterfly that, for me carries a lot of meaning. After the humble beginnings as a catterpillar, munching its way through enough leaves and vegetation to sustain the entire life of the butterfly, it finds a spot on a tree or a leaf and hangs by a thin thread, as a cocoon until the skin finally hardens into a chrysalis.

'Like an alchemical vas, the chrysalis is both the 'golden' vessel of transformation and the object transformed; swaying gently in the wind, it gives no outward signs of the concealed unfolding within, as the old forms dissolve and the embryonic tissue is restructured.' (Source: The Book of Symbols - Reflections on Archetypal Images, Taschen)

Like the metamorphosis undergone by a butterfly, this painting, though little might it be, has undergone many changes over time. It has layers and layers of thicker and thinner paint, many colours, cold wax medium, chalk and alkyd resin.

The painting was done on a dibond aluminium panel and it is consider one of the most durable supports for an oil painting.

Thank you for taking your time and showing an interest in my work.

For any questions, please send me a message.

©Daniela Roughsedge, 2021

Materials used:

Professional grade oil paint, alkyd, cold wax medium on dibond, varnished for protection.

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