Blue Morpho – Front and Back 2018

Scott Fraser made this painting of butterflies without a specified date using precise, considered brushwork. The blue morpho butterfly on top, so vibrant, feels almost digitally rendered, yet it's all paint, and I love that. Looking closer, you can see these tiny, deliberate strokes building up the color and form. The paint is applied thinly, allowing light to bounce off the surface and give the wings this almost electric glow. Then you drop down to the butterfly underneath, which has a completely different feel and tone – more earthly and subdued. The details on the lower wings, those little eye-like spots, are painted with such care. Each one a slightly different shade, a different shape. It reminds me of the work of Walton Ford, who also paints animals with incredible detail. Ultimately, this painting celebrates the wonder of nature through the careful and considered application of paint, a reminder that art is as much about seeing as it is about doing.