Colourful Goldfinches & Thistles Celtic art plus a look at the symbolism and meaning of goldfinches and thistles...

A look at butterfly meaning, myth & folklore with a particular focus on Celtic butterfly meaning and tales - all illustrated by my Celtic butterfly art, and unveiling my newest butterflies artwork...

I've been really busy recently creating lots of butterfly artworks (you can see the first 4 here, plus two others here and here - but I'll also be sharing them again in this post, too)....

But I realised I hadn't stopped to take a look at the myth and meaning of butterflies, especially in the Celtic world, as butterflies do have a particular meaning and importance in Celtic tradition...

So let's take dip into our history and understanding of Celtic butterfly meaning, plus butterfly myths and meanings from across the world - and I'll share my new Celtic butterflies artwork, which I created from the individual butterflies I drew for each of the other artworks, which I thought would all look lovely in one piece, together (see above or just below, showing detail from the artwork)...

Celtic alder art and Celtic Tree Calendar art - plus a little look at the myth, history and meaning of the alder tree...

The English word ‘alder’ is thought to come from the Old German workd ‘elawer’ meaning ‘reddish’ – the white wood inside the alder tree turns red when cut and the catkins of the alder are a purplish-red.
​
The Anglo-Saxon word for alder is ‘alr’ (linked to the Norse word ‘olr’). The Gaelic ogham word for alder is ‘fearn’ linked to the Welsh ‘gwern’. More about the meaning of ‘fearn’ later…

Pretty tortoiseshell butterflies against an intricate knotwork of Celtic spirals and swirls...

Feeling inspired by Medieval illuminated manuscripts, and following my recent 'Blue Butterflies Celtic Knotwork' artwork, I decided to work on a piece with tortoiseshell butterflies, which I think are one of our prettiest butterflies...

I create my pieces digitally from elements that I've hand-drawn individually - I scan them into the computer and put them together in Adobe Illustrator - here's how it went...

The Artwaves Festival is going digital this year and I'm taking part in the Open Art Exhibition, on now until 7th March 2021...

You can see my 'Peony & Comma Butterfly' artwork alongside over 200 other beautiful and interesting artworks on all different themes and in all different styles. You can also vote for mine or another favourite as the 'audience's choice.' See the digital art exhibition here...

The Artwaves Festival is also holding a week of excellent art & creativity workshops and demos (all to be held online this year) - get inspired and be a part of the festival here...
​

See more of my artwork here
​
See more press & events here

Inspired by Celtic knotwork and Medieval manuscripts - my 'Blue Butterflies' Celtic Medieval artwork...

If you've taken my Essential Drawing Skills course, you'll know that I'm very inspired by Medieval artwork and Medieval manuscripts, as well as Celtic knotwork... 

Now that I feel a little more practised with my Celtic knotwork, I thought I'd see if I could also bring in more of a feel of a medieval manuscript - I love the way that tiny paintings of flowers, butterflies, birds, animals and even people decorate the edges of the manuscript pages, and I thought I'd like to bring something of that to this artwork.

​I'm also drawing on my recent Celtic art style butterfly and flower artworks - I wanted to keep drawing butterflies as I've loved drawing them so much.
​
I started out with the Celtic knotwork - carefully planning out a design...

Celtic ash tree art prints & products, Celtic tree calendar version, plus ash tree myth and folklore...

Pretty Daisy and Painted Lady butterfly artwork in a Celtic knotwork style...

We're feeling as fresh and happy as a summer daisy with my pretty Painted Lady butterfly artwork - there's nothing like an innocent daisy to bring us a cheerful smile!

I create my artwork digitally from hand-drawn pieces in pen, marker, and coloured pencil. Here's how I created this piece...

Fabulously floral Peony & Comma Butterfly Celtic art by Lotti Brown - art prints & printed products available...

A sense of summer with this blousy pale pink peony and pretty, colourful comma butterfly...

I create my artwork from pen and pencil drawings and then put everything together digitally to create the final piece... here's how it happened...

Pretty pink rose and red admiral butterfly artwork...

A striking Red Admiral butterfly alights on a pretty pink rose with Celtic knotwork surround...

I create my artwork digitally from my own pen drawings...
​