Butterfly – Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)
The Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) appears here in a bright, detailed print celebrating its distinctive orange, black, and white patterning. Recognised across Europe, Asia, North America, and beyond, this is the world’s most widely distributed butterfly — found on every continent except Antarctica and South America.
What makes the Painted Lady remarkable is its epic migration. Each year, successive generations travel from tropical Africa across the Sahara and deep into Europe, reaching as far north as the Arctic Circle before returning south in autumn. This multi-generational round trip can span up to 12,000 kilometres — one of the longest insect migrations known. These journeys are driven by seasonal winds and rainfall patterns, sometimes producing immense swarms that fill the sky across multiple continents.
Adaptable and resilient, Painted Ladies thrive in open landscapes, gardens, and meadows. Their caterpillars feed primarily on thistles, while the adults draw nectar from a wide range of flowering plants. Their success lies in flexibility: they can breed wherever conditions allow, quickly taking advantage of new growth after rain or disturbance. It’s a butterfly of movement, resourcefulness, and colour — a true global traveller.
Bugs Series
Bugs gathers illustrations adapted from and inspired by founder Simon Tyler's book Bugs, published by Pavilion Children’s Books in 2017. The series celebrates the graphic elegance of insect life: armour-like exoskeletons, iridescent wings, compound eyes, and the ingenious mechanics of movement and camouflage. It’s a visual field guide reimagined—clean, bold forms and carefully tuned palettes that bring structure to the surface.
Each piece begins with the research-led drawings from the book and then goes further: refined linework, rebalanced composition, and subtle textural detailing designed for generous print sizes. The aim is clarity and presence — images that feel scientifically grounded yet striking on the wall. Printed with the same archival care as our other series, Bugs turns natural history into crisp, enduring graphic art.
Printing & Materials
Our Bugs series is produced in collaboration with specialist fine-art printing partners using museum-grade 250 gsm archival giclée paper.
Each print is made to order with exceptional precision and colour accuracy, using pigment-based inks for long-term stability and rich tonal depth.
Prints are carefully rolled in acid-free tissue and shipped in rigid cardboard tubes to ensure they arrive in perfect condition, ready for framing.
All materials and processes are chosen for their longevity, texture, and fidelity to the original artwork, reflecting our commitment to quality and craft.