The Red Butterfly of Radiance, oil and acrylic on board in an ornate hand painted frame, 13x13x2cm. Contact us at info@louisemcnaught.com for purchase enquiries .
A bearer of living light, the Red Butterfly of Radiance based on the Peacock Butterfly emerges from darkness not to escape it, but to illuminate it. Its crimson wings are rich with the pulse of lifeblood and fire, symbolising vitality, courage, and the unapologetic expression of the soul. Red, the colour of both creation and destruction, speaks here of transformation through intensity: a life fully felt, rather than carefully preserved.
The iridescent eyes upon its wings act as watchful guardians, symbols of heightened perception and inner awakening. They suggest a consciousness that sees beyond illusion, an invitation to recognise one’s own brilliance, even in shadow. Flecks of gold and cosmic embers surrounding it evoke divine spark and universal energy, positioning this creature not just as earthly, but as something suspended between worlds—both relic and revelation.
The Spectrum of Souls series explores the soul as a shifting, luminous force, embodied through butterflies whose colours symbolise emotional and spiritual states—each one a quiet totem of transformation, perception, radiance, or openness, inviting the viewer to recognise something of their own inner world reflected back at them.