Blue Morpho
Limited Edition
Signed and numbered giclée print.
Each butterfly print comes with a certificate of authenticity.
Each size limited to 100 pieces, and is printed
on archival Hahnemühle German Etching paper.
Frames are custom made in Britain using English Oak,
African Obeche and specialist Rohm glass.
Description
The Blue Morpho
Latin Name: Morpho menelaus
Distribution: South America, Mexico, Central America
Size: 127 – 203 millimeters
The morpho is one of the largest species of butterfly in the world, with an enormous wingspan of five to eight inches. It isn’t the sheer size of their wings that has made these beauties famous – it’s their luminous colour. Their iridescence isn’t a product of pigmentation though. The blue morpho really isn’t blue at all – it’s colourless. It only appears blue to the human eye thanks to a diamond array of microscopic scales on their wigs. These scales reflect light at an angle that reads as blue to the human eye. That’s why the wings can seem to change colours – from blue, to teal, to purple – depending on angle they’re viewed at. It’s all thanks to optical interference – no blue pigment involved. Their wings are so bright that pilots flying over the rainforest have reported being able to see them while in flight.
“…high over the tropical forest, you may notice what look like shimmering little light-blue mirrors – Morpho butterflies flying…”
– Vladimir Nabokov
The Artwork & Limited Edition
The original Blue Morpho artwork was painted in watercolour in 2019, and is the same size as the limited edition medium sized print.
Limited Edition Print Size:
• Mini: 15 x 15cm, limited to 100 pieces
• Medium: 23 x 23cm, limited to 100 pieces
Every print is signed by the artist and comes with a certificate of authenticity. The certificate is signed, numbered, and comes in a fitted glassine envelope. A custom debossed seal is featured on the back.
The Frames
All frames are custom made in England.
The Wood
Frames are available in two wood varieties: English oak and dark African Obeche.
Oak is a pale cream wood characterised by its strength, durability and characterful grain. It was seen as the monarch of the forest by ancient Indo-Europeans, and our word for ‘tree’ actually derives from their word for ‘oak’ (*deru-).
Obeche is also known as the the African Maple tree. It’s a hardwood species that’s native to several west-central African countries, and its natural heartwood is a pale yellow colour that darkens with age. This wood has been dyed to mimic ebony woods, which are beautiful but endangered due to over-timbering. Dyed Obeche wood mimics wenge wood with its warm dark colouring, straight timber and durability – all without the ecological concerns.
The Glass
Glass is fragile, prone to breaking during shipping and, most importantly, it doesn’t offer the best protection for your prints in the long run.
Light breaks down paper over time, weakening and discolouring paper fibres. The pigments found in ink will also fade with too much exposure. That’s why most art museums filter UV from light sources using a variety of window-coverings and coatings, specialised art frames and reduce light exposure by limiting the number of hours a painting is on display.
There is one simple and effective way to protect your artwork at home; and that’s by using UV protective glass. These frames are made using specialist Rohm plexiglass, which is the highest grade of glass on the market today. This material should not be confused with cheap styrene or acrylic sheets used in department store frames – it’s highly transparent, beautifully bright, break-proof and offers seven times more UV protection than glass.
