Emperess Dowager Rose

HONORING MY GRANDMOTHER, A PAINTER OF ROSES: This royal reddish purple rose which honors ancient widows and grandmothers of Chinese emperors was rendered in Prisma pencils, Prismacolor markers, F/W quillpoint inks, Dr. Martin inks. Pentel pens, Sharpie markers, more pencils and black with blue ballpoint inks applied for the butterfly.

This is a rose fit for my wife's birthday in lieu of a traditional card back in the summer of 2015. The butterfly is modeled from the goliath birdwing butterfly which roams New Guinea with relatives of similar colors and color patterns found and seen all throughout Southeast Asia. Ladybird beetles are found worldwide on six out of seven continents.

Ornithoptera goliath, the Goliath birdwing, is a birdwing butterfly found in New Guinea. It is the second largest butterfly in the world, after the Queen Alexandra's birdwing.