The initial inspiration for this drawing came from a beautiful photograph by a wildlife photographer Emmanuel Keller (Tambako). I was attracted by the expression on the lion’s cub face, and close-up details that are hard to see in real life circumstances, such as reflection in the eyes, eyelashes and cute little spots on cub’s chin. I contacted the photographer and he kindly agreed to allow me to use his photo as a reference for the artwork. But I felt I want something more than just a portrait of a cute little lion, I wanted to create a narrative or some kind of story that could be connected with a real life situation. I made my research and discovered some real stories and even found some photographs where not only cubs but adult lions too were fascinated with insects, birds, butterflies and played with them. Cats are always cats, playful and curious, even the big ones! Then I had to find a perfect African butterfly for the composition and it was not as simple as it may seem - African butterflies are numerous and most of them are very colourful and beautiful, that could distract the viewers’ attention from the main character – the lion’s cub. Finally, I decided on Bebearia barce – iridescent yellowish-green beauty, that I felt will complement the cub’s colours and stand out from the white background. The drawing is done with colour pencils on the pastel underpainting.
Size of the drawing - 55x55cm, professionally matted and framed in a modern gold frame. Framed size - 85x85cm