Oil on canvas
2024

I’ve had a compulsion to paint my studio for quite some time. There’s something about the idea of documenting the space in which you work that I find interesting. In some way, it is a type of self-portrait, it lays bare my inner thoughts by showing how they translate out into my physical, personal space.

Studio in Early Autumn depicts my studio, loosely painted in oranges and blue. The floor stands starkly in vivid blue against the warm oranges of the easel and side table, which strong contrasts the grey of the walls.

I was quite conscious about colour with this piece. Different to my usual process, Studio in Early Autumn was painted in block background stages, with each carefully considered colour butted up to each other. These were then only briefly worked over with shadow and highlight, paying close attention to how the warmth of the shadow changed between areas such as the green of the protective mat and the blue of the floor beneath.

While it was fun to make, and I am conscious of creating a looseness within my style, I feel instead this could have benefitted from being more tightly painted.