I am intrigued by craft, pattern, and ornamentation and introduce this design element often into my nature mandala subjects and into their backgrounds. Why not bathe flowers, fish, butterflies, and birds with hot rod fire? Introducing the crafts of tie die, flame painting, and indigenous fabric designs like those found on Mexican horse blankets into my animal and plant representation allows me to teach others about the historical significance and enjoyment of other elements of art, design, and world culture. The internet opens wide vistas and vision into world cultures such as Pakistani Truck Art and Chiva Bus art to share what artisans create for automotive tranporation for the enjoyment of others. To that end I have also been enamoured by Native American weaving designs since I was a child. I have incorporated these many decorative designs and motifs into a number of nature images to delight my viewers and to encourage an appreciation for various indigenous artforms.
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Flame Bat Moonlight MandalaThere is fire in the sky with this swarm of 18 little brown bats, scientific name Myotis lucifugus, with flame painted wings in this night time moonlight nature mandala. -
Mexican Blanket Butterfly Mandala4 fictional multi-patterned and multi-colored Mexican horse saddle blanket butterflies with varied designs of stripes, triangles, and broken triangle line patterns on their wings are displayed on a repeated Mexican horse blanket icon pattern colored in middle blue on a light lime green background with a bright orange and yellow geometric center in this fantasy butterfly garden nature mandala. A few of the butterfly examples that you may find in my butterfly collection as well as some hard-shelled beetles are fictitious insects created for your enjoyment and amusement. -
Pakistan Truck Art Garden MandalaA number of nature elements including butterflies, flowers, sunrise, thistle, sea shells and feathers inspired by Pakistan Truck Art in this nature garden mandala. -
Red Chiva Frog Art Deco Mandala4 Chiva art inspired green, orange, red, and yellow frogs (loosely based on the Red Strawberry poison dart frog Dendrobates pumilio) are shown with a green frog repeating pattern design in this art deco rainforest nature mandala. The frogs were created with lines, small circles, triangular and crescent shapes typical of designs like those painted by the renowned Chiva bus painters of South America. -
African Moon Moth Mandala4 broad wing saturnid yellow silkmoth Moon moths with eye spots on their wings are displayed on an African Square mosaic art deco design in matching colors of red, orange, yellow, green, and brown in this decorative and bright colored moth garden nature mandala. Like all insects, saturnid or giant silk moths have six legs and three body segments: the head, thorax and abdomen. They have furry robust bodies, large velvet-like exquisitely colored and decorated broad wings, and wispy feather shaped antennae. -
Hopi Sparrow Hawk Nature Mandala8 American kestrel, Falco sparverius, or sparrow hawk with colors of muted purple, deep bronze and black in 4 groups of 2 are shown on a Hopi native american inspired decorative mosaic background with the same color scheme as that of the kestrels in this raptor nature mandala. -
Navajo Giant Swallowtail Butterfly Mandala4 beautiful giant swallowtail butterflies with brown and yellow black veined wings, Papilio cresphontes, are displayed on a background of inspired Navajo weaving terraced box textile design of brown, orange, and yellow colored pyramid stacked boxes. To draw interest to the center, orange, yellow, red and blue terrace stacked boxes mimic the color of the eyespots found on the long tail projections of this butterfly's hind wings all portrayed on a light orange background in this Southwestern Native American butterfly nature mandala. -
Brown Navajo Turtle MandalaFour orange and brown box turtles with ornate high domed shells are decorated with a weaving fabric mosaic Native American inspired geometric pattern made up of stacked squares and formed into outlines of combined colors of orange, gray, brown, and yellow that imitates the actual markings and patterns found on the plates or scutes found on the shells of turtles. This same pattern is repeated as subtle iconic designs in muted warm brown tones and presented as a Native American turtle nature mandala. -
Sagebrush Moth Crescent Mandala6 soft white and tan sagebrush moths with orange furry bodies, wavy patterned wings, and red striped feathered antennae, Hemileuca hera, are paired with an Navajo Native American crescent and diamond circular design with colors of orange, lavender, purple, warm tan, dark brown and red accents on a white background in this Southwestern prairie woodland nature mandala. -
Navajo Blue Swallow Spiral Mandala10 Barn swallows with outstretched wings, Hirundo rustica, glossy blue in color and identified by their cream colored chest an orange cinnamon throat and forehead and a deep forked tail with white spots are displayed on a background of inspired Navajo weaving terraced box textile design of blue, orange, and yellow colored pyramid stacked boxes. To draw interest to the center, blue orange, yellow and terrace stacked boxes form a single box shape and is shown on a light orange background in this Southwestern Native American swirling songbird nature mandala.