Using unconventional tools in my paintings!

 Reverie XI – Painting with Sand and a Tea Infuser

Welcome to the behind-the-scenes of Reverie XI, a piece where texture becomes poetry, and the tools of the everyday are transformed into instruments of expression.

In this video, I invite you into my process—one that breaks from convention and leans into intuition. At the heart of Reverie XI lies an impulse to merge the natural with the abstract, to let chance and control coexist on the same surface.

☕ From the Kitchen to the Studio

One of the most unexpected tools I used in this painting is a tea infuser. Not for steeping herbs this time, but for sprinkling fine beach sand across the canvas. This method allowed me to scatter texture in delicate, controlled layers—like dust settling in slow motion. Each shake becomes a moment of intention; each grain of sand a fragment of memory embedded into the surface.

🌊 Why Sand?

The sand I used was collected from a quiet shoreline—its organic irregularity speaks to the raw, grounded elements I often seek to incorporate into my work. As it mingles with the paint, it catches light differently, creating subtle shifts in tone and depth depending on how you move around the piece. It’s an invitation to look slowly, to let the painting unfold rather than reveal itself at once.

🖌️ The Spirit of Reverie XI

This piece is part of an ongoing series exploring introspection, dream states, and the delicate balance between silence and movement. With Reverie XI, I wanted the surface to feel both weathered and luminous—almost like a remembered landscape, half-erased by time but emotionally intact.

The unconventional methods mirror the theme: using familiar objects in unfamiliar ways reminds me to stay open to possibility, to surprise, to improvisation. Sometimes, it’s the least expected tools that bring the most evocative results.

🎥 Watch the Process

In the video, you’ll see layers of paint being built up, interrupted, and softened—then, the moment where the tea infuser comes in, shaking its fine, earthy texture into the flow of color. It’s messy, slow, imperfect—and that’s exactly the point.

Thank you for watching, and for stepping into the reverie with me.