Xerces Blue and Morant’s Blue Butterflies in Japanese Ink on Shikishi Boards

Haruka Miyamoto presents a series of sumi ink drawings on traditional Japanese shikishi boards, featuring the Xerces Blue and Morant’s Blue butterflies. These works continue her exploration of extinct species, a theme she also pursues through sculpture.

Sumi ink on Shikishi, size 24.2 x 27.3 cm (9.5 x 10.7 inches)

The Xerces Blue (Glaucopsyche xerces) was native to coastal sand dunes around San Francisco and is believed to have gone extinct in the 1940s due to habitat loss. It was the first American butterfly species to be driven to extinction by urban development. The Morant’s Blue (Lepidochrysops morantii) is a species native to southern Africa, some subspecies of which are no longer observed in the wild. These butterflies are small, with distinct blue and pale patterns that make them identifiable and emblematic.

Morant’s Blue – Ink on Shikishi by Haruka Miyamoto

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Each drawing is made on a gold-trimmed shikishi board, a format historically associated with poetry and calligraphy. Miyamoto applies brush and ink with precision and restraint. The forms are simplified but attentive to proportion and gesture.

These pieces belong to her "Instinct Animals" series, which reflects on absence and memory through material and process. The butterflies are not biological studies but interpretations that suggest presence through outline, shadow, and contrast.

Presented by Art San Gallery, the works demonstrate Miyamoto’s ongoing interest in material-based observation. The drawings are available as individual pieces.

British Large Copper Butterfly – Sumi Ink on Shikishi by Haruka Miyamoto

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