Fluttering Yellow on Green — the story behind the commission
This 90x70cm piece began as a commission with a simple brief: a tree, full of life, full of birds. What followed was weeks of slow, deliberate work — building the branches first, then layering the canopy leaf by leaf until the gold and green came alive.
Eight goldfinches move through the piece in different states: perched, mid-flight, watchful. And on one of the bare branches, a small owl sits quietly, watching over the whole scene.
Pieces like this test patience as much as skill. Every leaf is its own small decision repeated hundreds of times, and the birds had to feel like they belonged — caught in a moment, not posed.
I'm sharing the process because so much of what goes into a painting like this happens before the final image: the structure, the rhythm of the branches, the choice of where each bird lands. I hope the video gives a glimpse of that.
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