Description

Artist Statement

Garden of Delight

I fell in love with the wild tropical jungle gardens of Panama.

There is something intoxicating about them. Nothing is restrained. Nothing seems to have been planted according to a plan. Vines tumble through trees, enormous leaves overlap one another, branches twist toward the light, and everywhere there is this extraordinary sense of life upon life upon life.

And then, when you least expect it, there is color.

A sudden burst of scarlet.

A flash of brilliant yellow.

Impossible pinks and oranges appearing high in the canopy, sometimes so far above you that you have to stop, tilt your head back and simply marvel at them.

Those moments delight me.

Garden of Delight grew from that feeling—the sheer pleasure of discovering beauty hidden within the tangled abundance of the Panamanian rainforest.

I didn’t want to paint a botanical garden in any literal sense. I wanted to capture the experience of being inside one: the humidity, the density, the shadows, the unexpected flashes of light and those exhilarating explosions of tropical colour.

Emerald and deep forest greens create the sanctuary of the jungle. Turquoise and luminous aqua appear like glimpses of sky and water. Then coral, orange and brilliant yellow erupt unexpectedly through the composition, just as tropical flowers reveal themselves amongst seemingly endless green.

The rainforest has taught me that beauty does not always announce itself.

Sometimes you have to look up.

Sometimes you have to look into the shadows.

Sometimes you turn a corner and there it is—a flower blooming impossibly high in a tree, illuminated for a moment by sunlight.

Pure delight.

Painting in my chapel studio surrounded by this landscape has made me increasingly interested in the relationship between nature and the sacred. The rainforest feels like a garden no human being could ever design: extravagant, mysterious, imperfect and magnificently alive.

There is darkness in it.

There is decay.

There is competition and wildness.

And yet life keeps reaching toward the light.

Perhaps that is why these tropical gardens move me so deeply. They remind me that delight does not require everything to be perfect.

Delight can appear in the middle of the tangle.

A flower can bloom in the shadows.

Colour can burst from darkness.

Beauty can appear where we weren’t even looking for it.

Garden of Delight is my celebration of those moments—and an invitation to remain awake to them.

Look up.
Look closely.
Stay curious.
There is beauty everywhere.

Sometimes the world still has the capacity to completely surprise us.

And what a delight that is.

 

 

Artwork Details

Garden of Delight

Cathedral of Light Series
Original acrylic and mixed media on archival watercolor paper
229 × 305 mm, including a 15 mm white border
Signed on reverse
Certificate of Authenticity included

Commission inquiries are welcomed for private collections, hospitality projects, and architectural spaces. Some spaces ask for a painting that has not yet been created. If you feel called to begin that conversation, I would be delighted to hear from you.

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The Cathedral of Light series is designed to interact with light itself. Transparent glazes, luminous pigments and metallic accents continually reveal new dimensions as daylight shifts across the surface.

Each artwork has been professionally photographed to portray both its true color and its luminous character. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, no photograph can fully reproduce the depth, brilliance and subtle movement of the original.

Like sunlight filtering through a forest canopy, each viewing offers something new.

AUTHENTICITY
Your Joyous Wee Gem will be hand-signed on the back, with its title written on the rear.

COLOR & LIGHT

Every effort is made to faithfully represent the colors of the original artwork. Please note that colors may vary slightly between screens. Metallic, layered and reflective passages respond beautifully to changing light and may appear subtly different throughout the day.

SHIPPING
Worldwide shipping. Please enquire or see FAQ for the terms and conditions on international shipping and shipping times.

* Please check dimensions carefully before framing