Butterfly Project Accepted and Started

This is a colored pencil drawing of the concept I submitted for the Butterfly Project. If accepted I will get a 3 ft aluminum butterfly to paint with this design and a stipend for materials. The finished piece would be displayed somewhere in Colorado Springs. At the end of the summer they are auctioned off and the proceeds benefit Art & Music in schools. I will find out next week. I'm not sure if I stand a chance, but it was fun to submit and a great cause. The concept was to paint the form with oil paints. Then to use a iridescent finish coming out on the blue and green and a sparkle finish on the red and orange. I wanted make it bright to stand out in the outdoors and to use the colors of the color wheel as a representation of a basic of Art concept.

My design and the designs of 2 friends at work, Lita and Prachi, all got accepted for this project. We are all excited and a bit nervous. There were not a lot of entries, but I guess they felt our designs would appeal to the public. I had decided to do it pretty last minute and wasn't sure what or if I should do it. I prayed as I looked for ideas and tried to put something together. I was surprised that it came together pretty well. So, I guess I am supposed to do it. I can't do it in oils as I planned, so the blending will be a challenge. I will use a paint additive to slow the drying and I got a STA-Wet pallet. For me, this will be a lesson in acrylics (which I haven't used for many years), time management, faith and who knows what else. So far, I've gotten it sanded to create a "bite" for the paint. Then I applied a light gray primer coat. I practiced on some aluminum burner covers and am ready to start putting on color. My Dad and I got one of the wings mounted on a board to make it easier to paint the edges without it sticking to the surface. I learned that when applying the primer. Now begins the real challenge. Help Lord!