Painter uses butterfly wings as canvases

The Mona Lisa is featured on one work. [Photo/IC]

After experimenting with candy and toothpaste, Mexican-born artist Cristiam Ramos is now using preserved butterflies as canvases on which to produce his artwork. He spends hours on each wing, painstakingly decorating them with detailed replicas of classical paintings.

Butterfly wings don't naturally make for good canvases as they are small, and the texture isn't exactly right. Florida-based Ramos has to use a magnifying glass to perfect the intricacy and details and can spend more than 50 hours on each wing, meticulously applying one brush stroke at a time.