Bears and butterflies are my favorites animals and I love paring them together in the same painting. I have done this several times now. I love the gentle, delicate nature of the butterfly juxtaposed against another animal perceived as aggressive and dangerous. But when the two are paired, the bear is softened and all its contentiousness is dissolved.
I think that is what makes a butterfly magical - it has the ability to bring out the innocence and child-like curiosity of animal or human at the brief moment it passes by.
A monarch is a supreme ruler, also the name given to the type of butterfly painted. I believe grizzly bears to be the supreme ruler of the forest.
Oil painting by James Corwin Fine Art - Wildlife Artist
