The puddle, 2026
Oil with acrylic underpainting
61 cm x 51 cm
Artist’s Statement
Our water meter had burst, spewing a giant fountain into the garden for days while our taps ran dry. For a week after, we survived on a freezing trickle siphoned via hosepipe through the bathroom window. With our children sick with gastro, it was a miserable, exhausting time. Out on the driveway, the rupture left massive, still pools (not to mention a muddy watercourse throughout the garden). Brooding over the chaos one afternoon, I saw my two-year-old son crouched by the water’s edge, completely absorbed, peering into a liquid mirror.
The elements within the oil painting bridge my son’s inner world with our family’s history. A curious robin looks on: a recurring guardian symbol inspired by his middle name, Robin (after his great-grandfather). The fish is a nod to his father, who always saw fish in puddles as a young boy.
As adults, we naturally focus on the hardship: the burst pipe, the sick children, the inconvenience. But through my son’s eyes, the disaster became something enchanting. His intense concentration quieted my worries, reminding me of a child’s gift to delight in the simplest of things.
Ultimately, I want my art to do what my son did for me that afternoon. My portraits are a portal to a simpler time, inviting the viewer to step back from the demands of daily life and appreciate the magic in the little moments.
