2023 was a year of sustained focus. I spent more time in the studio than in any previous year, and the work reflects that — a deeper willingness to stay with a painting through its difficult phases, to let it become something I had not planned.
Mood and atmosphere
The paintings from 2023 are quieter than earlier work. I found myself gravitating toward a narrower palette — earth tones, warm greys, ochres — and toward compositions with more open space. Works like Tranquility and Still came out of that period of working slowly and not filling every corner of the canvas. Learning to leave space was the main lesson of the year.
Returning to plants
Botanical forms came back strongly in 2023. I had moved away from them for a while, curious whether the work needed that anchor to the natural world or whether it could sustain itself on pure colour and form. The answer, at least for now, is that the plant is still necessary for me — not as a subject to be described, but as a starting point, a way of grounding the abstraction in something rooted and alive.
Scale and size
I worked at two extremes in 2023: very small and quite large. The small works — some as compact as 18×18 cm — demanded economy, a willingness to let a single mark carry the whole painting. The larger canvases gave me room to move and to build atmosphere through accumulated layers. Both taught me things the other could not.
If you would like to know more about the work from this period, or about my practice in general, you are welcome to reach out through the contact page or read more about me here.