A Toast To Old Beginnings - 150cm x 180cm - Original Oil On Canvas

This painting is part of my ongoing series Spirit of Play—a body of work that unfolds slowly over months through layering, observation, and intuitive mark-making.

The process begins without direction. I build the surface through spontaneous gestures, allowing colour and movement to accumulate without trying to force structure too early. The early stages are simply about play—responding to the material, letting marks appear, and then stepping back to live with the painting for days or weeks at a time.

Over months, rhythms begin to reveal themselves within the chaos. Shapes suggest relationships, colours begin to balance each other, and the painting gradually starts to ask for resolution.

With many of the works in this series, that final moment arrives suddenly. After months of building and observing, the resolution often takes only a few decisive gestures.

This painting is one of those moments.

Built from a warm, energetic palette of oranges and yellows—with flashes of sky blue and deeper navy appearing through earlier layers—the surface carries the history of months of playful experimentation. When the painting was ready to resolve, it required only two bold gestures: sweeping, gestural marks in a deep navy-violet tone that anchor the composition and bring the entire surface into balance.

Those two marks transformed the painting instantly.

Despite the long period of layering that came before, the final image retains the spirit it was built upon—play, movement, and bold energy.

This is a high-impact work. It isn’t designed to quietly blend into a room. Instead, it acts as a focal point—something that can define a space and bring vitality to it.

Because of its warmth, scale, and gestural presence, it would sit beautifully in an active living space—somewhere conversation, creativity, and energy are already part of the room.

The painting carries months of experimentation, but it resolves with a kind of joyful simplicity: two gestures, placed exactly when they were needed.