Whilst doing some online research last year,
I happened upon an old drawing of mine that had not only vanished from my life,
but also from my memory. The unimaginatively named Untitled (Yellow) 2001,
oil pastel, 76.5 x 57 cm (pictured above) was originally part of a series of prints, paintings
and drawings made between 1998-2004 that focused on the backs of women’s heads.
They are reproduced on the Portfolios page of my website under Knots and Braids – all except this one,
which somehow slipped through the net.
A number of the works were exhibited in a solo exhibition in Sydney in
2003. The drawing sold from there and vanished to parts unknown. I can’t
remember the site on which I discovered it, however I downloaded the image and in
all likelihood would have soon forgotten about it again. But in one of the many
instances of synchronicity that mark our friendship, noted iPad artist Deborah McMillion recommended an app called Butterfly Cam. Straightaway I recognized the potential of incorporating one
of the butterflies featured in the app into my recently unearthed drawing. The intuitive
act of progressively adding yellow butterflies to the drawing sparked an idea
for a fairy tale, the first I’d written in ages. After writing several drafts,
I filed the story and metamorphosed drawing away. Yet again, I almost forgot about the drawing - and the fairy tale too. Deborah McMillion is the only one who ever read the story – at least until now. This
evening I exhumed it, dusted it off, did some minor tinkering, and published it
on my book blog, Moth Woman Press, along with two versions of the re-configured drawing. To read the illustrated story, The Yellow Butterflies, click
HERE.
