I was initially contacted by Interior designer, Rachel Battais Interiors, who wanted to commission a large painting for the Omega Works show room in Hackney Wick, East London. Rachel liked the style of my work and thought it would compliment the main living space in the heart of Hackney, but also had a colour palette in mind, as most of the interior furniture and soft furnishings were already in place.
Brief:
This project is located in the centre of Hackney . The painting will be installed in the living room area above the sofa and would be visible from the street. The space is designed for a show flat and needs to be appealing for young professionals mid 30 to 40s.

Colour Palette
RAL 9002 (neutral)
RAL 6005 (forest green)
RAL 6011 (soft green)
RAL 8023 (burnt orange )
RAL 1011 (soft walnut colour)
Dimensions: 150 x 100 cm
Shape of artwork: Landscape

Deadline: 5th September 2022

The whole process was very collaborative, with Rachel and I communicating via email and face time, until the piece felt right to both of us.

Several small works on paper were created in the planning stages, incorporating the brief colour palette. However, in the end, we veered towards a more tonal white piece, as the rest of the colours and patterns in the home were quite strong and busy e.g zig zag textured wallpaper, and we wanted to create a calm tranquil feel to the space. There was an emphasis on texture and therefore the painting encompasses several layers of mixed media, including: acrylic, sand, white caulker, gesso, cardboard, pva glue, paper and string, adding interest to the more neutral colour palette.

Rachel also wanted to include a subtle reference to Hackney and the graffiti which it is famous for. On the bottom of the right hand panel of the painting, I created a ‘map’ of the borough of Hackney, with layers of white paper and textured acrylic. I included layers of hidden figures (which have made an appearance in several of my paintings), free flowing shapes and etchings, scratched into the canvas, giving a sense of depth and intrigue. The piece was finished with loose drips and ‘stains’ of paint (on the right panel of the canvas), contrasting with the brighter textured white (on the bottom panel). It was decided that this piece would not be framed. Finally, a satin/matte varnish was applied to preserve the paint layers.

2023: I am very happy to have been commissioned again by Rachel and I am currently working on a piece for her Hackney base client.