#532 - Ek Peépem

Inspiração: My main inspiration is nature as a whole, we are all part of it, yet everything is ephemeral like the life span of a butterfly. Nature is vanishing and sadly we play a big role in that.
I decided to start my jaguar by painting grouped butterflies at the bottom, eventually they start to fly up and disperse towards the middle and top of the jaguar's body, while a few of them venture to let themselves be guided by the stars. To me one part of this represents the fragility of existence, in this case the jaguar's existence, how if we don't unite and act to protect them and their environment they can disperse and fade away.
The starts are the light that guides the path of the butterflies that dared to follow them, that is also an analogy of how we can inspire other people to follow the "starts" and actually take action towards protecting jaguars and the environment.
Two types of butterflies are very present, monarch butterfly and the blue morpho (Menelaus blue morpho). The blue morpho is not only beautiful but it can also be found in Mexico, central and South America including Brazil, and just like the jaguar it has been hunted in the past, also deforestation has become a big threat for them. For the monarch butterfly, it has a personal connection since it's an iconic species in Mexico and every season I can't help my self but to admire their beauty and determination, it's spiritual meaning is one of a guiding light that directs life. That's why my leopards face has one.. not covering it's face but actually being part of it's facial features.
We can be that guiding light to conserve and protect the environment for this species and others. Definitely two outstanding elements behind my inspirations are butterflies (Peépem in Mayan), and the stars (Ek), hence the name; Ek Peépem.

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Laura Wyoming's Bio': I have always loved to paint and draw, at this point of my life I dare to say is my passion. Since I was a kid it has been easier for me to express my emotions and ideas through drawings or paintings, you can put a hundred words into a single artwork no matter how simple or complex it is. When I was five years old I told my mom that I wanted to learn how to paint, to me it seem a perfect way to immerse myself into a fantasy world where anything was possible, I enjoyed it so much that sometimes I preferred to stay home and draw rather than go out and play with kids my age. In high school I continued with AP art, and after graduation... I decided to go for dentistry... I know something completely different than fine arts (what all my close friends were expecting of me but not my family..). I graduated and my mom and dad were so proud (specially my mom) because I was a dentist and part of the medical field, but as time moved on I knew I wasn't happy, everything that I was doing was superficial... I wanted to feel and express my self like I used to do back as a kid, so I decided to find someone to guide me back into the art world and so I did. Minerva Fuentes a renowned local artist interviewed me and told me that I could always "reunite" with my artistic past, she accepted me to her art studio. The first class I felt frustrated.. since it has been a while and of course my skills were rusty and surprisingly it didn't feel the same like it used to. That afternoon I had to connect with my self by looking at old drawings, how it felt when I painted and also how the emptiness felt from all those past years doing something I wasn't passionate about... I had to connect both to change and overcome this "life situation/ artist block". The second class I arrived (no caring about the outcome of the activity or how bad or good it turned out to be), just focusing all my emotions on enjoying the moment and be present on the painting activity and at that moment it all changed and made sense one more time, I knew that I wanted to be there... painting. After a few months at Minerva's I decided to give it a try to my old landscapes and fantasy drawings. And so I did, with my first come back landscape I painted I wanted to transmit how I have felt all those years and the outcome of doing something with passion in order to inspire others to do things they love, that's why my "main" art pieces are landscapes I love when people get immerse in them and ask. I know I still have a long way to go as an artist but as long as I get to inspire others and transmit a message through my art is good enough, that's part of why I got so interested in the jaguar parade. My most common medium for my "serious' art work is acrylic paint, for practice and sketches I use ink and sometimes pencil. I've been in two art shows since joining Minerva's studio and from time to time I get commissions. (Thanks so much to whoever is reading this.. I know is long but I thought it was important to mention, so thanks again for reading all the way through and your patience).

Materiais necessários: Brushes*
Acrylic paint
spray paint
acrylic markers Posca
varnish spray seal