Magical Monarch Butterfly Mural Story and Support Continues

A monarch butterfly with orange and black wings rests on a cluster of vibrant orange and yellow flowers, surrounded by green foliage in bright sunlight.
Photo by Ian A Nelson
A cluster of orange and black monarch butterflies gathered on tree branches, with the text "Western Monarch Butterflies: Protecting Our Pollinators" overlaid in the center.

Ian A Nelson’s Western Monarch Butterflies Protecting our Pollinators documentary

As one of the most iconic species in North America, the monarch butterflies’ population decline signals the overall health of our ecosystem. The western monarch population migrates between their breeding areas west of the Rocky Mountains and the California coast. Conservationists and dedicated community members are working hard to protect, restore, and enhance habitats for monarchs, which has a cascading effect, benefiting other native pollinators.

Upcoming Screenings:

Check back for upcoming screenings.

It Starts with a Pencil, General Pencil and Artist Jonathan Martinez raise awareness of Western Monarch Butterfly  

Protecting the Western Monarch Butterfly – Legislative update with Congressman Panetta

Where are the Monarch Butterfly Murals?

Corner of a white multistory building with a monarch butterfly mural painted on both sides of the corner. In front of the mural on one side is a red and grey scissor lift. There is a sandwich board sign and fire hydrant in front of that. In front of the building on the street corner is a man wearing a white hat, black jacket, blue jeans, and a face mask. At the corner there is a crosswalk.
79 New Montgomery St, San Francisco, CA
A finished monarch butterfly mural with one large and one small orange, white, and black monarch butterfly. The butterflies are sitting atop a plant with a red stem, green leaves, and pink and white flowers. The are stripes of red, orange, and yellow bisecting the background from the top left to the bottom right of the mural. The large butterfly in the top right of the image is surround by a pinkish purple background with swirls of yellow on the left side. The small butterfly on the right side of the image has a wispy green background behind it. The mural is surrounded on either side by three vertical panels painted dark brown with rectangular insets in the same color. At the base of the mural is a one tile high and four and a half tile deep ledge. The tiles are dirty and tan in color. The building this are is set in is white with three horizontal panels with white rectangular insets above it.
180 New Montgomery St, San Francisco, CA

Watch the time-lapse video of Jonathan Martinez creating ​the Magical Monarch Butterfly Mural

​See photos of Jonathan Martinez and Brittney creating ​the Magical Monarch Butterfly Mural

  • One side of an Academy of Art University multistory building. The first floor on the corner of the building has the beginnings of a mural that has a black background and the pending mural outlined in white. A red and grey scissor lift is positioned on the left side of the pending mural. There are three orange road cones on the sidewalk blocking the space. Around the corner there is a red and grey city bus. On the sidewalk next to he bus there is a white fire hydrant and sandwich board sign with two white and one blue balloons. Across the street there is a 6-story city building with windows lining the street.
  • One side of an Academy of Art University multistory building. The building first floor on the corner of the building has the beginnings of a mural and two men standing in front of that. There is orange road cones on both sides of the corner. A lady in a great shirt and black pants is crossing the street in the distance where there are two red and grey city busses.
  • A view down the street from the sidewalk at the corner of a building. The grey and red scissor lift extends to under a black awning and has a woman in a tan hoodie sweatshirt and maroon pants on it. In front of the scissor lift is three orange road cones, The sidewalk is lined with parking meters with red coverings, three newspaper stands and a sandwich board. Across the street 5 multistory city buildings are visible.
  • This is an image of the corner of a multistory city building looking up from a low angle. The first floor sides of each corner has the beginnings of a mural. A red and grey scissor lift is on the right side of the image. There is clear blue skies and at all city building visible on both sides of the image.
  • Side of a multistory city building with a black awning with the red and white Academy of Art University logo on it. Below the awning is an in-progress monarch butterfly mural with one butterfly and green outlines below it. There is a red and grey scissor lift in front of it on the sidewalk. A tripod and black bag are on the left side of the mural.
  • The side of a city building showing an in-progress mural of two monarch butterflies. An orange scissor lift cage with spray paint cans on the deck blocks the view of most of the mural. A man with a black hat is barely visible in the bottom left corner. A sign that reads "Artwork beautification in progress. Monarch Butterfly Mural being painted here! by (instagram logo) Art.ofthe.Endagnered Thank you to our sponsors including: AcademyArt.edu Blick.com Generalpencil.com/monarchbutterfly Herc Rentals Academy of Art University logo General's Logo Blick art materials logo"
  • Image of an in-progress monarch butterfly mural with two monarch butterflies each perched atop a green leafy plant with red berries and pink flowers. The background is orange with "glowing" spots. An orange and grey scissor lift is partially in front of the mural.
  • Image of an in-progress monarch butterfly mural with two monarch butterflies each perched atop a green leafy plant with red berries and pink flowers. The background is orange with "glowing" spots. A man in a black hat, black hoodie sweatshirt, and black pants is standing next to an orange and grey scissor lift that is in front of the mural. Across the street there is a multistory city building.

Thank you to all of the creative team and project supporters!

We appreciate everyone who collaborated to help us beautify the urban space with our Magical Monarch Butterfly Mural Project

Ian A. Nelson
Wilderness Conservation Filmmaker
Academy of Art University Alum

Jana Memel
Executive Director Schools of Entertainment, Academy of Art University

How to Draw A Monarch Butterfly

3 General's® Brand Pencils that are horizontal and stacked on top of each other. Top Pencil: Since 1889 General's® Charcoal 557-4B Soft, Signature Orange barrel with white imprint. Sharpened to expose the charcoal core and sustained yield cedar wood. Middle Pencil: Since 1889 General's® Layout Pencil Extra Black No. 555, Black barrel with white imprint. Sharpened to expose the Layout® graphite core and sustained yield cedar wood. Bottom Pencil: Since 1889 General's® MultiPastel® chalk 4429 Sanguine, natural cedar wood finish with white imprint. Sharpened to expose the sanguine pastel chalk core and sustained yield cedar wood. Finished with a silver ferrule and white eraser.

Share your butterfly drawings with us using #GeneralPencil

Download the Complete Lesson Plan