Original artwork description:

A largescale, dark and close cropped image of deep red and green leaves of a Ti Plant (Cordyline) against a dark, textured background.

This giant Ti Plant sat out front of a Craftsman style bungalow I stayed at in Silverlake, CA, in March last year. The red leaves would catch the morning sun and create a fire-like glow against the brick and concrete façade. I captured the glow of the leaves through layers of oil glazes, and the way in which lighting can lift the piece.

This piece was the first of my recent works as I've spent the last 12 months exploring the impact of native and non-native plant-life on local ecosystems and environments, inspired by time spent in diverse environments including LA - where I found this beautiful old Ti Plant - and Nevada, Italy, India, Canada and the Greek Islands, as well as my local surroundings here in London.
I finished this piece just as the news of the devastating wildfires in California was breaking.

Materials used:

oil paint

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