Ode To Migration

I just finished this small piece of a Monarch butterfly (Ode To Migration). I fell in love with them when I was a kid. I traveled to Minnesota with my parents to see family and while visiting, met a wonderful gardener that had milkweed in her garden along with very large caterpillars munching on the leaves. I was fascinated. I watched them for what seemed like hours. The gardener let me take one back home in a glass jar, with a stick, more milkweed leaves and holes punched in the lid. The jar had rolled under the seat of the car at some point during our trip and I thought it was lost. A few weeks later my dad came to me holding the jar he found lodged under the car seat. The butterfly was beginning to emerge from its cocoon. It was the most magical thing I’d ever seen. I got to hold this beauty in the palm of my hand as the wings unfurled. As they stretched it began to test them out slowly. Within 5 minutes, it took flight and I watched as it faded into the sunlight. May we all be free to travel and live anywhere we choose to find peace and happiness. Sending love to all vulnerable people who are afraid or have been torn from their homes and families 💔 Praying for peace ☮️ from my Loveland Colorado studio. #monarchmigration #weareallconnected #coloradoilpainter #lovelandcoloradoartist #butterfliesarefree #pollinators #beautyofnature