Here is Charaxes jasius, a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family. The Charaxes butterfly is also known as the Two-tailed Pasha, which I think is pretty charming. This is the latest of the Solo Butterfly watercolors, and perhaps the most challenging of all to paint. Getting the wing patterning sketched on the paper was actually the hardest part! After that, the application of watercolor just took lots of patience and experimenting until all the colors seemed right. Each tiny area was painted multiple times. As usual, I used wet-in-wet technique in small, distinct areas (rather than wetting the whole paper at once). Each part had to dry completely before another wash of color could be added. Even the veins of the wings were done multiple times in multiple colors so that they would appear more natural rather than too perfect. It takes quite a long time to do it this way, but it usually gets the results I am seeking.
This is the last in a set of four new additions to my Solo Butterfly series. All four new paintings are 13×19, framed to 19×25. This is larger than all the previous paintings in the series, which are 9×13, framed to 13×17.