Push

A lot of the paintings I make are described as calming, an articulate friend of mine once described them as 'like letting go of a breath you didn't know you'd been holding on to' and I was really proud to have created things that could inspire such a reaction. In this case, through 'Push', a painting of a woman, distorted by the water.

Often I consider the fleetingness of time when I make work. My pieces display a millisecond, the ripples and distortions unique to that specific moment, that once passed, can never be returned to. There is, I believe, something soothing in this, a reminder of the ephemerality of all things, the impossibility of holding on to what has passed, the need to let go.

Push is a little different though. Whilst working on this piece I was thinking about resilience. The model for the piece is a good friend and an oncology nurse, a career that demands incredible mental fortitude, grit and compassion, and watching this from the outside is highly inspiring.

The painting was made in 2021, during the covid lockdowns, a time that demanded resilience from everyone. So whilst I spent a hundred hours pouring over the piece, capturing the intricacies of reflected light on the submerged body, with it's hand, forcing the water out and upwards as it strives to return to the surface, I was thinking about the notion that sometimes we must let go, and sometimes we must work hard, hold on, and push.

Original painting now with a private collector in Germany.

If you like this piece also see  Emergence and The Altered Surface

Also view on my Instagram.