Euphoria

Description

There is a particular kind of joy that only shows up in the height of summer, when the heat has been building for weeks and everything feels a little more alive than usual. I wanted to paint that feeling rather than any one scene, the sense of warmth rising up through you until it has nowhere left to go.

Euphoria is built from layers of red, orange and gold, worked in with a palette knife until the surface had real texture, ridges and pulls that catch the light differently depending on where you stand. Underneath, a darker base holds everything together, a reminder that this kind of joy always has weight beneath it. The diagonal streak of pink through the centre was the last mark I made, and the one that made the whole piece click into place.

This painting is part of my Burnt Skies collection, painted alongside Firestorm and Wildfire during that long hot summer. Where Firestorm is about the moment the sky catches, Euphoria is about what comes after, the warmth that lingers once the heat has properly taken hold.

Painted in acrylic on canvas, 60 x 80 cm, and presented in a black matt floating frame so it is ready to hang straight away. Each painting comes with a certificate of authenticity. Shipping is standard tracked delivery.

To arrange a private viewing at my Nottingham studio by appointment – get in touch here.