In my painting practice I explore figuration in nature through a magical realism lens. I analyse this relationship through vibrant colours and gestural mark-making, contrasted with moments of realism. These methods depict underlying psychologies against real physicality, overall challenging a sense of place and stability. I have been focusing on how humans’ relationship with nature feels today, conveying mystical feeling landscapes while referencing the modern world. Adventure and engagement with nature and its relationship with mental health is a key theme in my practice.

 

My figures react to their surroundings and play with the elements that encompass them. Melting into their environments of forests, lakes or mountains, and gently taking on a ghostly feel. I work with washes of strong, often sickly colour to create different forms and subjects.

This functions to challenge the realities I see from my research, expose an emotional concern or joy within the experience, and contradict seemingly natural scenes with unnatural hues. There is a sense of displacement and discovery from some elements being painted realistically compared to the rest of the painting. These moments almost feel photoshopped in as they contrast against the painterly creations of my figures and landscapes

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Majority of my paintings are inspired by personal experiences and photos, then reinforced by found online imagery, pop culture and art history. There are parallels aesthetically within my work that call to the dynamism found in cartoons, anime, and gaming. This underlying relationship to the digital space woven into my process and techniques aims to communicate what the contemporary sublime is and find a place that exists between the real and imaginary.