"Madame Butterfly"

Alice McMahon White

"Madame Butterfly"

“He will call Butterfly from the distance
I without answering
Stay hidden
A little to tease him,
A little as to not die.
At the first meeting,
And then a little troubled
He will call, he will call
“Little one, dear wife
Blossom of orange”“

~ Puccini

“Madame Butterfly” model, dancer Cori Kolasinski, daughter of an artist friend. Charcoal on Mylar drafting film, 24×20.”

This is a “double sided” drawing, I drew on both sides of the translucent Mylar, and it will be hung in a frame between 2 sheets of glass. The piece is meant to be hung near a picture window in the gallery space, with daylight shining through the window during the day, and with spot lights after dark. There will be room behind the piece so that viewers will be able to view the work from either side. Kind of a quick loose drawing, because I wanted to show movement. I used the progressive setting on my camera to capture movement – I have hundreds of usable photos from the shoot. The res was a bit lower, but the captures were fairly clear. I’ll definitely draw more from this shoot at a later date. The voluminous skirt Cori wore during the shoot appeared lit from within in the north light of the studio as she did pirouettes and arabesques. I believe this will provide drama with light showing through as the piece hangs in the gallery.

The main purpose was to have a piece that would be an example of the nature of my chosen surface. I also wanted to include a dancer in my “muse” series, what better theme than a dance version of the well known Puccini opera, “Madame Butterfly?”

Artistic video with music from the opera.

"Madame Butterfly" belongs to the following groups:

1 on 1: The Fine Art of Portraiture , * Painted Ladies *, ! 100% !, "Exceptional Ekphrasis", Dirty Filthy Art: Charcoal, Fine Art of the Female Form, Friends of RedBubble, Hand Drawn or Painted Art of Happiness or Joy, Live, Love, Dream: , Mature Woman, Outsiders, Pencil Drawing (2 per 24 hrs), The Best of and Woman Appreciation Available for sale as

Greeting Cards, Matted Prints, Laminated Prints, Mounted Prints and Framed Prints

"Madame Butterfly" by Alice McMahon White
  • melbourneguy75

    melbourneguy75

    Gorgeous work Alice :)

  • Alice McMahon ... replied

    You are quick! :) Thanks David!

  • Janne Kearney

    Janne Kearney

    Nice Alice, I just plugged in too and this lovely piece was there to greet me. Keep em comin’

  • Alice McMahon ... replied

    The butterfly series is “drawing” to a close Janne. One nearing completion on the easel and another small work or two planned. Thanks for being one of my best cheerleaders! Hugs :)

  • Rhinovangogh

    Rhinovangogh

    Beautiful capture of the swirl of movement!!! You rock on….

  • Alice McMahon ... replied

    Thanks Rhino. A playful one for sure. xx

  • JDNarts

    JDNarts

    Beautiful work as always dear Alice! Wonderful sense of flow and motion captured in her skirts and body language.

  • Alice McMahon ... replied

    That means so much to me Jim. Thanks for the fave as well!

  • Vicki Ferrari

    Vicki Ferrari

    Would love to see this ‘in the flesh’, as you describe it, with light behind it, Alice! It sounds divine! And it already looks incredible so can only imagine what it might look like then! Fantastic! :)

  • Alice McMahon ... replied

    Hi and thanks Vicki! I took some photos of the piece framed up with light behind it last night, but I don’t think they turned out very well. I’ll be sure to take some photos at the gallery next week. :) Framing was er…interesting. My poor hubby gets all the fun jobs. LOL.

  • Lynsye Medalia

    Lynsye Medalia

    WOW! Very different from your other pieces, but it fits so well….I just love this series!

  • Alice McMahon ... replied

    Hi, thanks Lynsye. Gosh, I’ve been away for a few days, and looks like I missed your homepage! Congrats & woohoo! About time girl! :D

  • thepaintedsoul

    thepaintedsoul

    Gorgeous image. Always enjoy your incredible tonal range. And the movement in this is perfect, Alice. Congrats on another fine work. Cheers!

  • Alice McMahon ... replied

    Thanks dear friend! I’ve completed another – but I’m moving work to the gallery for the exhibition. I hope to post it soon.

  • Sean Farragher

    Sean Farragher

    brilliant work

  • Constance Widen

    Constance Widen

    Alice, you have been captured by butterflies and it shows in your beautiful artworks! It is a pleasure going through your Portfolio and this is yet another wonderful painting :-)

  • LorusMaver

    LorusMaver

    Wonderful movement in this Alice,great textures,expression & depth

  • Alice McMahon ... replied

    Thanks dear friend! Hope you are well.

  • Michael Scholl

    Michael Scholl 16 days ago

    beautiful…just beautiful!!!!

  • Alice McMahon ... replied 8 days ago

    Just saw this, thanks Michael! A bit different for me.

  • LadyE

    LadyE 9 days ago

    I am fascinated by your wonderful images, I have never seen anything like them before, I am not an artist but I love your work. This is such a beautiful scene.!!

  • Alice McMahon ... replied 8 days ago

    I’m so glad you like them LadyE. I think different is good! :)

  • Scott  d'Almeida

    Scott d'Almeida 2 days ago

    wonderful image,

  • Alice McMahon ... replied 2 days ago

    Thanks Scott!

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