“This painting is a nod to the old ‘Peanuts’ cartoon ‘Snoopy vs. the Red Baron’. The puppy brings exuberance to the fray but the Mourning Cloak butterfly as one of the longest lived butterflies brings experience. I’m betting on the butterfly.” I had a good reference shot of my golden puppy jumping in the tall grass after grasshoppers. I was going to call it Grasshopper Dance but I was afraid it would be difficult to accurately paint a flying grasshopper. Early one spring I was out walking and encountered a lot of mourning cloak butterflies. Problem solved.