Have you ever walked outside in the fall and looked up at golden leaves that glowed as the sun shone through them? Has the similarity of these natural foliage and stained glass ever struck you? Butterflies wings can have the same effect on light when the creatures fly in-between you and the light source. These natural sources, leaves and wings, do not color the light and create a pattern on the floor, but they do seem to glow, suspended in the sky.
In a few of my paintings in patterns in flight: Passion Letter, Malachite Lustre, Wandering Ochre, and one in-progress work. I play with this translucent idea of light, experimenting with the difference between the effect of the light on one wing that is in-between the light source and the viewer and the other wing that reflects the light falling on it. This dichotomy of how the light affects my subject interests me on both a technical and theoretical levels. Technically, it is interesting to experiment with the craft of creating different textures, subtly and simultaneously with creating a fading affect with the wings. On the other hand, I see potential in relating with a subject that is perceived more fully as the surface and translucency of the matter is conveyed. While the light is a separate entity from the wing which is molded by it, light merges with the wing that it shines through.
When looking at stained glass we have this same affect. On the outside of the building, glass is separate from the light and is seen by the light. When we are inside the building looking at the colored glass, the light appears as a part of the glass. However, this changes depending on whether you are inside or outside of the building. With leaves and butterfly wings, you can have both affects in the same scene.
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