#48: Preparing for Saltaire: Three New Paintings in Progress
I’m preparing three paintings for the Saltaire Gallery Open Call — including my reinterpretation of Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam. In this post, I share how these works bring together weeks of moiré experiments and why Saltaire feels like the right place to present this stage of my journey.
#47: At a Crossroads
Having finished my variation of Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam, I find myself at a crossroads. Should I continue experimenting with pop-art style reinterpretations, or return to portraiture, this time layered with colour and the moiré effect? In this post, I reflect on the weight — and potential — of choosing a direction.
#46: Back to the Brush
After weeks of moiré experiments and technical tests, I’ve finally returned to painting — beginning my reinterpretation of Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam. In this post, I reflect on the shift from preparation to brushwork, and the unique fulfilment painting brings.
#45: Reimagining Creation Through Moiré
I’m beginning a new portrait inspired by Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam — but with a twist. Using the moiré illusion, I’m painting just the two hands so that only one is ever visible at a time. The result: God and man can never appear together, a reflection of disconnection in our age.
#43: When the Studio Feels Like a Laboratory
Lately my studio looks less like a studio and more like a laboratory — Perspex sheets, varnish tests, and failed scraps scattered everywhere. In this post, I reflect on the role of experimentation in my moiré portrait project, and why research and failure are as essential as paint.
#41: Trusting the Experiments
Before a painting exists, there’s a lot of invisible work — the quiet stage of testing and failing. In this post, I share how I’m using a sacrificial Perspex sheet to experiment with paints and varnishes for my moiré project, and why these unseen steps are vital to inventing a new process.
#40: When Play Becomes Purpose
My moiré portrait project started as pure experimentation — no pressure, no plan, just play. But somewhere along the way, it became something more. In this post, I reflect on how creativity often finds its purpose after you’ve already started, and why that’s exactly the kind of surprise I love.
#39: The Difference Between an Idea and a Painting
Some ideas arrive perfectly in your mind — clean, sharp, ready to be made. But painting them is a different story. In this post, I reflect on how the transition from concept to canvas reshapes everything, and why that unpredictable shift is part of what makes painting worthwhile.
#38: The Idea Arrives Before the Skill
Some ideas come before we’re ready to paint them — and that’s where I’m at. In this post, I reflect on the challenge and excitement of chasing a concept that feels bigger than my current technical ability, and why painting into that gap is where real growth happens.