Nature gives us so much to look at and be in wonder of the abundance of visual splendour – every season offers a delightful palette of colours. The Meadows and Gardens Collection and Florals Collection are inspired by nature themes of stunning flowers in bloom, and colourful meadows and garden scenes.
The classic elegance of historical fashion periods is a source of inspiration for the Mademoiselle Collection. This collection is also influenced by stories from the past that are interwoven into the visual narrative of the art – we often look to the past as a reference from which to reinvent and influence our contemporary lives and this idea will be a continual theme in this collection.
Watercolour is beautiful and less predictable than other painting media and I work with it in different ways – more traditionally with washes allowing the characteristics of the pigment to create stunning effects on the surface of the paper, and also experimentally by layering thicker applications of paint and building the intensity and richness of colours.
Acrylics give you the ability to easily apply colours in rapid succession or paint in stages by completing the work over time – the staged approach can be advantageous as it gives you time to reflect and develop the visual story. By layering acrylics, you can achieve expressive textured effects and passages of vibrant colour.
The surface you paint on is incredibly important. In particular, when working with watercolour, the paper enables the mixing of paint and water to create beautiful effects. To achieve the most satisfying results, I use papers with exceptional properties that enhance the luminosity of colours and are very durable to withstand a layered working technique.
The Impressionists observed their environment and painted the sensation of what they could see by using techniques to capture the ever-changing reflections of light and colour – visible brushstrokes of colours, tones and intensities that combine to depict a scene. This style of painting is quick and immediate and gives you more freedom and flexibility to capture the moment. Working this way can liberate you from the constraints of structure and lets you focus on the visual sensation of light and colour and how it makes things look. I use an impressionistic style for the Meadows and Gardens Collection.
The choice of colours, their grouping, position and impact on the whole composition is always an important consideration. I will often mix close colours to enrich and intensify the effect, for example the primary colour red with its tertiary and secondary neighbours, red-orange and orange, respectively. Even when I don't think about it, colour ends up being my mode of expression.
My artistic style is versatile and I use different media and techniques to achieve my vision for the piece. I tend to work in stages, building the visual story over time. This process evolves the dynamic of the art by adding layers of expression into the work – the ideas, the colours and the emotions that develop during the creative process combine as essential elements in the composition. Regardless of the pathway I choose for a particular work of art, my goal is to bring it to life.
