Fulfilling a wish of the Smithsonian Institution's Horticultural Services department to tell stories of orchids with butterfly pollinators in their native habitat, for the exhibit Nature's Jewels: A Living Exhibit of Orchids & Butterflies, I set out to research and render my findings in a very short time frame. These collages depict the orchid Disa uniflora, both the red and yellow forms, with their pollinating butterfly Aeropetes tulbaghia, in their native habitats in South Africa.
The orchids and butterflies were first rendered in a traditional drybrush watercolor technique, then scanned into my computer to become part of a digital collage. The elements of the collage tell the stories of attraction, fulfillment, habitat, field notes and scientific name changing trivia.
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