Dear Body | Original Art | Illustration
Medium: Mixed media – Ink, Watercolour, Acrylic
Style: Expressive, abstract, deeply introspective
Techniques: Layered brushwork, fluid motion, organic mark-making
Palette: Muted tones with striking black and white contrasts, symbolising the dialogue between body and mind
Key Features: A visual exploration of listening, healing, and reconnecting with oneself
Description:
Created during Chapter 2 (2020 - 2023), this piece is part of the Versions of Robert Collection—a deeply personal body of work reflecting my journey through my mother’s stroke, dissociation, and eventual dementia. This period of my life involved immense inner soul work, each piece acting as a page in a diary, accompanied by a poem or story.
“Dear Body” is a conversation—a moment of recognition, apology, and reconciliation. It captures the internal struggle between the mind and body, the way we push through pain, anxiety, and exhaustion without listening to the signals within.
The brushstrokes carry a sense of movement and release, reflecting both tension and surrender. The stark contrasts of black and white evoke the push and pull of awareness, while delicate marks suggest the body’s unspoken messages—waiting to be heard.
This piece asks:
What happens when we finally listen?What if we stop running and embrace the body’s wisdom?
Details:
- Size: A4 Illustration
- Material: Mixed media on paper
- Unframed
- Original, signed by the artist
- Limited Edition Giclée Prints Available – 150 prints total across three sizes, including the original size
Dear Body | Original Art | Illustration
by Robert Paul:
Dear Body
..
Dear body
Let’s talk
Let’s talk of life
Let’s talk of fear
Let’s talk of love
..
Why do we not talk
Why do I run from you
Why do you hide
Why do I push you right down
Why do I cover you with words
..
Sometimes your silence calls me
Sometimes all I can do is just rest
Sometimes something shakes
..
Dear body
I’m sorry
I have been busy
I have been trying to love
I have been wanting to be heard
I have been wanting to live
..
Dear body
I’m sorry
I know you’re holding
I can feel your signals
but I have been wanting to be somewhere else
..
Dear body
I am listening
I am wanting
I am releasing
..
Let’s dance
Let’s feel
Let’s love
..
Dear nervous system
Dear spirit of body
through shadows & light
I am here
..
