Artwork Description:

Title: Madagascan Sunset Moth

This stunning Sunset moth is from the Hope Entomology collections at The University of Oxford Museum of Natural History. It shows the front and underside of the moth in intricate detail. I painted this on stained paper to recreate the feeling of the journals of past explorers and naturalists.

The colours of the Sunset moth originate from optical interference in the iridescent parts of the wings, while the black parts are pigmented. Adults have a wingspan of 7-9cm.

Watercolour on paper

Artist Bio:

I am a Derbyshire-based, artist/illustrator and art tutor.

I have a degree in textile design, and a masters from Central St Martins in Communication Design/Illustration.

My inspirations include natural history, explorers and naturalists, Hitchcock films, kitchen sink dramas, ghosts & haunted houses  and Agatha Christie and Daphne du Maurier novels.

I am currently working on a series of Shackleton illustrations which evoke the foreboding atmosphere and historic accounts of the Trans-Antarctic Expedition, as well as developing an idea for a graphic novel inspired by Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.