Yes, miracles do happen. And, this, why my new painting is proof.

You see, my early life was like a helter-skelter, but with even more ups and downs than on Blackpool Pleasure Beach!

Actually, my childhood was brutal. And when my beloved mum died when I was just 10, I not only lost her but, through shock, also all memory – all memory – of my passion for art.

Then, 12 years later, the first miracle occurred: my mum “visited” me and got me back on track.

You see, I’d painted a beautiful picture of a pink butterfly for her, full of sunshine and hope. But after her death, it just disappeared – along with all my childhood paintings. And then, following a mysterious chain of events, the butterfly painting came back to me and, with it, all my memories. In mythology, butterflies are often seen as the souls of the departed bringing gifts and messages to the living. And that’s exactly what had happened… my mum, through that butterfly painting, was reaching out to me, nurturing me again… and I began painting, painting, painting. To me, it really was a miracle.

And each time I went off the rails a bit, more of those childhood paintings came back to me. Over 20 of them! It was utterly bizarre! It was like she never gave up on me, constantly giving me a loving “kick up the backside”– “Get back to your painting, Bobby!” she was saying.

My new collection is the evidence of that miracle.

Indeed, it’s my art that’s taken me from being a damaged “caterpillar”, then through times of tumultuous change, to become what I am now, The Butterfly Man. Happy, busy, free, and fulfilled.

And you can see this in my paintings.

I don’t plan them. It’s like this: As each day unravels, memories, thoughts and emotions build up inside me ready to express themselves; expressed as layers upon layers of fragmented reality.

Every painting tells a story. And that story is always one of Hope; of reaching out to the rainbow that is within us all: the rainbow after the rain.

Thank you so much for visiting. I really hope you enjoy the paintings.

And if you’d like to see more, visit my website – www.iamthebutterflyman.com – and there’s a book telling of my life and art to be published later this year.

Robert Haworth, “The Butterfly Man”