The Butterfly Monster | Original Art | Illustration
Medium: Mixed media – Ink, Watercolour, Acrylic
Style: Expressive, surreal, dreamlike
Techniques: Layered transparency, fluid strokes, delicate yet haunting movement
Palette: Soft golden yellows, warm peach tones, and earthy ochres, contrasting fragility with underlying unease
Key Features: A delicate yet eerie transformation, symbolising inner fears, self-doubt, and the weight of memories
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. Each piece in this period represents an exploration of the self, where emotions, memories, and subconscious fears emerge like whispers from the past.
“The Butterfly Monster” plays on the duality of transformation—where something beautiful can also hold a shadow. The butterfly, often a symbol of change and hope, takes on an ominous form, speaking to the insecurities and doubts that can weave themselves around the soul.
This piece invites the viewer to reflect on:
• The whispers of self-doubt that creep into moments of change
• The battle between growth and fear
• The delicate balance between transformation and uncertainty
A haunting yet poetic representation of transformation, vulnerability, and the unseen battles of the inner world.
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
The Butterfly Monster | Original Art | Illustration
by Robert Paul:
The Butterfly Monster
..
The butterfly monster
whispers in my ear
weaving his web of insecurities around my empty fears and tired hopes
waiting in the warning of time and lost memories
..
