Metamorphosis by Melanie Ray
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Size: 12 x 15
Artist statement: We start our lives as one being, only to be imprisoned by our own actions, but that doesn’t mean it’s over. Changes simply need to occur in order to transform into the most beautiful version of ourselves.
Image description: Two rows of three black rectangles make up the design of the painting. In the first rectangle to the top left, a green and grey simple caterpillar with red eyes is in the center. Two sets of three overlapping circles are in two of the corners. In the top middle rectangle, the caterpillar is surrounded in wispy and swirling white and grey lines. White drips fall down the top of the image. In the top left image, the caterpillar is now completely covered in grey and white lines to form a cocoon. More white drips down from the top of this rectangle. In the bottom right rectangle, the cocoon is starting to fray and crack, with a small bit of bright color visible from within, again with white dripping down from the top. In the bottom middle rectangle, half of a butterfly can be seen coming out of the cocoon, with its bright wings folded down. In the bottom right rectangle, the entire butterfly, free of the cocoon, spreads its wings, which are bright purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red, with black spots and specks. Two sets of three overlapping grey circles are in each corner, similar to the first rectangle.