The Magician, 2020

The Magician is a large colourful oil painting of a kingfisher flying along a river bank of wildflowers in summer in Sussex. The style is art nouveau and expressionist and is very vibrant in its motion and colours. Many layers of paint, some transparent, were used to build it up and the paint is quite thick and textural. The kingfisher is fairly realistic and contrasts with the rest of the scene which is not. She flies along and casts her magic over the river which can be seen glittering between the flowers on the riverbank. It is an exuberant and happy painting as it was made from a memory of my first sighting of a kingfisher along the banks of the River Ouse in Sussex last summer. It was a hot July day and she flew from a branch towards me before she realised I was there. I saw a flash of orange and then a flash of blue as she retreated. I found her and the river and the sounds of water and insects and cows quite magical and wanted to show that surge of happiness in this painting. It is the third painting I have made during coronavirus lockdown 2020 and is dedicated to all those people dreaming of what they will do once it is over. It is 36x48x1.5 inches on deep edge canvas with white edges. Video: https://youtu.be/nMhP1SXozrI