Lost in Thought

21x15cm, Acrylic on Watercolour Paper. Available here 

This is painted from a photo I snapped in London back in June. I was struck by how the light was catching the young woman, illuminating her. I used a bit of artistic license to simplify the background and make sure she is the sole focus. This was a challenging painting to work on- the pose, the skin tones, and the angle of her head- but you don't learn unless you push yourself! And I definitely learned a lot through working on it.

Hi-Viz: A Quick Break

15x21cm (A5) Acrylic on Watercolour Paper. $45. Available here

Each time we go to London, I find my attention drawn to all the workers in Hi-Viz. The fluorescent oranges and greens are so striking. I've been putting off painting them because I kept thinking "will everyone else just think I'm crazy?" And then I realised I should be painting what I want, and not worrying so much about what others think. Sometimes it's hard, when a painting gets next to no views, or people ask you what the point of it is. After all, you find your own artistic voice by experimenting and following your own intuition, not by chasing the expectations of others.

That said, I do hope you don't think I'm crazy... I just like mixing bright colours haha

The Lunch Date

15x21cm (A5) Acrylic on watercolour paper. $45. Available here

Another for the "People Eating" challenge- my trips to London provide plenty of reference! Here's a couple sitting outside of a cafe, enjoying lunch in the sun. I fought with this piece a lot- it felt like there were a lot of elements to pull together, and I was quite surprised to finish it, let alone be satisfied with it. I'm really enjoying this foray into figurative work, a largely unexplored genre for me- I feel quite excited to get stuck into it and see where it leads me...

Lunch Break

21x15cm (A5) Acrylic on Watercolour Paper. $45. Available here

For the Weekly Challenge- "People Eating" and wow, was this a challenge! I'm still getting the hang of painting figures. I used a photo I took in London back in March- funny enough the hardest part of this was figuring out what to do with the background, which was a mess of intricate architectural detail and overlapping signs.

Cherries and Scallions

21x15cm (A5) Acrylic on Canvas Board. $45. Available here

I had a lot of fun building a composition around these scallions- and adding touches of yellow and pink into the greens to keep them interesting.

Seeing Red

15x21cm (A5) Acrylic on Watercolour Paper. $45. Available here

More cherries! I really like how their shadows became an important part of the composition here.

Cherries and Glass Jar

12x15cm (A5) Acrylic on Watercolour Paper. $45. Available here

I finally remembered to paint the cherries that have been in the fridge for a couple of days- they're great fun to work with, so dark and glossy, with a really rich red-purple colour. I'm really enjoying trying to capture it.

In Bloom

21x15cm (A5) Acrylic on Watercolour Paper. $45. Available here

In response to this week's Daily Paintworks challenge, I took a look around my garden and found this little flower- some type of rose? At the time it was the only one that was open. I didn't want to pick it, so I just took some photos (it was too hot to be sitting outside, by my standards at least!) I checked again today and there are a whole bunch more in bloom now. It feels like it's been a while since I did a floral painting, and this was a really nice change of pace from some other projects I've been working on!

Bluebells and Branches

21x15cm, oil on paper. $40. Available here

It's bluebell season! I spotted this cluster beneath a tree and had to do a little painting. Trying out oils on paper, which is something I don't often do. I'll probably try a few types of paper and see what I like best- it's always fun to experiment with new surfaces and techniques!