Oil on canvas
2024

Following on from a recent visit to Edinburgh, I found myself with a wealth of images from which to paint. The great thing about walking around a new city is not just the architecture, history and new environments, but from what I have observed, the way people hold and present themselves varies drastically from region to region.

I will admit to being a fan of Hayao Miyazaki’s work, and My Neighbour Totoro certainly holds a special place in my heart. So, I was delighted to see his face grinning in front of me as he took on the form of a backpack.

Not my Neighbour, is a tightly cropped painting of two figures walking along a street painted in yellow and blue. Above and heading into the distance are a series of shop signs, starkly contrasting in raw cadmium red. The right-hand figure is wearing a Totoro backpack which is painted in a dull yellow which contrasts the figures blue jacket.