VIEW IN MY ROOM
United Kingdom
Select a Material
Fine Art Paper
Select a Size
8 x 10 in ($40)
Add a Frame
White ($80)
Butterfly Cry A PORTRAIT OF A MEXICAN HEROINE BY JOHN MCDONALD Butterfly Cry is the first of the Mexican Heroine series by John McDonald, a body of work exploring human themes of love and loss, suffering and strength, passion for life, and the power of creativity to convert pain into beauty. Butterfly Cry depicts a creative and imagined portrait of the Mexican Heroine researched through a variety of historical photographs. She is depicted in red, yellow and black Tehuana costume, with silver earring, red plaited headscarf and red floral headdress on a turquoise and soft green ground. This unique and moving portrait uses the South American symbolism of grief transformed into butterflies: the Mexican Heroine's tears are represented as colourful butterflies, one for each year of her life. Forty-six butterflies may be easily counted and the forty-seventh is hidden somewhere else in the portrait. The pathos, vibrancy, and universal appeal of Butterfly Cry, makes this the leading portrait in John McDonald's Mexican Heroine series. The artist has a very literal empathy with his Mexican Heroine, through loss and bereavement from self, but most of all in a passion for life that can change tears into butterflies, overcome disability and pain, and that celebrates the indomitable strength of the human spirit. BUTTERFLY CRY BROKEN… BROKE BEAUTIFUL BURDEN CRY… GOODBYE LIE, LAY, LAID
Print:Giclee on Fine Art Paper
Size:8 W x 10 H x 0.1 D in
Size with Frame:13.25 W x 15.25 H x 1.2 D in
Frame:White
Ready to Hang:Yes
Packaging:Ships in a Box
Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.
Handling:Ships in a box. Art prints are packaged and shipped by our printing partner.
Ships From:Printing facility in California.
Have additional questions?
Please visit our help section or contact us.
United Kingdom
Born in a Glasgow tenement in a sectarian district, I left school with a piece of paper (no certificates) saying that I was deaf and would be best employed in a noisy environment as everyone would be similarly disadvantaged. Born under the image of Christ of St John of the Cross by Salvador Dali. This huge painting in Kelvingrove art gallery seems to have an impact on me becoming an Artist in my 50s. Can I say that I spent years of my childhood evading gallery custodians and sliding along the polished floor under this painting? Unknown to me at the time, this painting by Dali, with its dynamic perspective and monumental scale, planted the seed for a love of art, and awakened the soul of this deaf kid from Drumchapel. When I first picked up a piece of charcoal as an adult and started to draw, it was a version of Dali's Christ of St John of the Cross which I created. Following a decade working in noisy environments, my real education began: in a Merseyside Unemployed Resource Centre. Training to become a Welfare Rights Officer I became hungry for education. In becoming mentally astute in the law, politics, and history that inform welfare and union work, I found, with naivety, myself. My fine art practice is informed by the dual and equal passions of my life: a passion for creative arts, and passionate campaigning for social justice. I have always been involved in the arts, through theatre, film, directing, and spoken word performance. For a long time I needed to shout, and I used performance to shout publically, about abuses and inequality I witnessed in mainstream services, to shout out for social justice, and educate on behalf of silent minorities. I am profoundly deaf and found that being involved in the arts was a way of being included. I started painting about 6 years ago on an old van that had been converted as a camper, just a plain white van that became a giant 3D canvas. I was conscious of passers by either watching or commenting, both were a challenge because of deafness but it was this situation that allowed me to be more included in my community and society in general. People liked my work and over a period of years as the van canvas was filled so was I, with confidence and more involvement with passers by, some who became friends. My painting is both the catalyst and the fruition of a personal journey towards peace.
Thousands Of Five-Star Reviews
We deliver world-class customer service to all of our art buyers.
Global Selection
Explore an unparalleled artwork selection by artists from around the world.
Satisfaction Guaranteed
Our 14-day satisfaction guarantee allows you to buy with confidence.
Support An Artist With Every Purchase
We pay our artists more on every sale than other galleries.
Need More Help?